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THE POETS AND POETRY OF IRE- 
LAND. With Historical and Critical 
Essays and Notes. i2mo, $2.00. 

SAM HOUSTON AND THE WAR OF 
INDEPENDENCE IN TEXAS. With 
Portrait and Map. 8vo, $2.00. 

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. 

Boston and New York. 



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SAM HOUSTON 



AND 



THE WAK OF INDEPENDENCE IN TEXAS 



BY 



ALFRED M. WILLIAMS 



WITH POBTRAIT AND MAPS 




^?9f3)> 



/ 



BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

1893 






Copyright, 1893, 
By ALFRED M. WILLIAMS. 

All rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge Mass., XT. S. A. 
Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co. 



PKEFACE 



My purpose in writing the life of Sam Houston 
and a history of the War of Independence in Texas 
has been to give as accurate a picture as was in my 
poT\er of a very remarkable and interesting per- 
sonality, and a period of great importance in the 
growth and character of the nation. Houston pos- 
sessed very strong and original qualities as well as 
very apparent weaknesses and limitations, and his 
character and conduct often deserved censure as well 
as discriminating approval. He had many devoted 
partisans, attracted by his achievements and personal 
magnetism, as well as bitter enemies, created by his 
sharp tongue and masterful temperament, and the 
written records and estimates of him vary from ex- 
travagant and often fulsome eulogy to the harshest de- 
preciation and the most envenomed attack. In later 
years the detraction and animosity are dying away, 
and he is becoming a somewhat mythical hero, who 
represents the traditional pride of a community, and 
embodies the reverence of a heroic history. But the 
remembrance of his impressive and original per- 
sonality is still strong among the contemporaries of 
his later years, and the anecdotes and reminiscences 



iv PREFACE 

which are orally current give the illustrative charac- 
teristics of the man, in spite of the exaggeration and 
invention which grow up about them. I believe that 
I have read all the books which relate to Houston's 
career, beside consulting a large number of the files 
of contemporary newspapers, letters, speeches, and 
pamphlets by himseK and his associates. I have also 
conversed with many who knew him personally, and 
who have given me facts and anecdotes which have 
never been published. I have examined the archives 
of the Republic and State of Texas in the Capitol at 
Austin, and the records of the national Congress, 
while he was a member. The facts in regard to his 
life among the Cherokees in the Indian Territory 
were obtained from the lips of aged Indians who re- 
membered him, and particularly from the late Judge 
Riley Keys, an intelligent Cherokee, who was familiar 
with him during his residence with the tribe. I have 
endeavored to be impartial as well as accurate, and to 
present the man as he was, with his faults as well as 
his virtues, and his failures and errors as well as his 
successes and achievements. I have used those anec- 
dotes and incidents which, however apparently tri- 
fling, reveal the man as an individual and in his daily 
life as well as in his public career, and have not sup- 
pressed or modified those which would show the weak- 
nesses which contrasted with his strong and admirable 
qualities. It is needless to say that there is no other 
course to be taken for the truth of history or for intel- 
ligent biography. Houston is strong enough to endure 



PREFACE V 

an unflattering portrait, and the interest in his individ- 
uality, and as the type and product of his time and 
circumstances, depends upon the absolute accuracy of 
the resemblance. 

The history of the War of Independence in Texas 
has been several times written. The most elaborate 
and valuable account is that of Plenderson Yoakum, 
who had access to the original documents, and was 
familiar with many of the actors in the military and 
legislative history of the Republic of Texas. He is 
honest and accurate, and although later researches 
have corrected some errors, his volumes will remain 
the principal storehouse of information in regard 
to the events of the period. William Kennedy, a 
Scotchman and British consul at Galveston, preceded 
Yoakum, and his History of the Republic of Texas 
contains many original documents and much valuable 
information. Senator Henry G. Foote, of Mississippi, 
wrote his volumes on " Texas and the Texans " rather 
in the style of a controversial and oratorical pamphlet 
to favor annexation than a sober history, although 
they possess some value in the journals and accounts 
of participants in the events. Mr. H. H. Bancroft, 
with his customary industry and accuracy, has investi- 
gated the history of Texas in American and Mexican 
sources, and published the results in his " History of 
the North Mexican States and Texas." Rev. H. G. 
Thrall has given some useful statistical and other 
information in his " Pictorial History of Texas." 
There are a considerable number of personal memoirs 



vi PREFACE 

and sketclies which give accounts of individual a<;- 
tions during the time, and the reminiscences of those 
who took part in the events. The series of the 
" Texas Almanac," published at Galveston, is espe- 
cially valuable as giving the accounts of personal sur- 
vivors of the war, although they are often colored by 
prejudice and sometimes contradictory in statement. 
The period was a heroic one in the achievement 
of personal vigor and daring. The defense of the 
Alamo will always be reckoned as one of the most 
striking examples of desperate and determined valor 
in all history, and the fight at San Jacinto conclu- 
sively demonstrated the superiority of the Anglo- 
American race over the Hispano-Mexican. There 
was much turbulence and lawlessness among the ad- 
venturers from the United States and the original 
settlers, and schemes for conquest which had no pa- 
triotic motive, and there was the uncertainty and 
irregularity of action inevitable to a people carrying 
on the war by volunteer levies rather than by disci- 
plined armies. But the war for the independence of 
Texas was not in its governing character a filibuster 
enterprise, whatever may have been the motives and 
purposes of some of its leaders, but was the result of 
the oppression and jealousy of the Mexican authori- 
ties compelling resistance, and the conditions which 
inevitably brought the American colonists into con- 
flict with those of an inferior calibre and alien institu- 
tions and habits. It was fought with courage and 
determination and on the whole with practical wis- 



PREFACE vii 

dom, and was creditable to the race as well as to the 
community. 

I am indebted to ex-Senator Jobn H. Reagan, to 
ex-Governors F. A Lubbock and O. M. Roberts, of 
Austin, to Hon. Hamilton Stuart, of Galveston, to 
Hon. E. W. Cave and Judge Alexander McGowan, of 
Houston, and to many others in Texas, for anecdotes 
and reminiscences of Houston. I am much indebted 
to Judge C. W. Raines of the Agricultural and Sta^ 
tistical Department at Austin for assistance in exam- 
ining the archives and newspaper files at the Capitol. 
I owe my earnest thanks to my friends James A. 
Hervey, of Medford, Mass., and James Jeffrey Roche, 
of Boston, for advice and assistance in the details of 
the book. A list of the books relating to Houston 
and the history of Texas will be found at the end of 
the volume. 

Providence, R. 1., June 23, 1893. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Boyhood and Youth ...... 1 

II. The Young Soldier 11 

III. Member of Congress and Governor of Tennes- 

see 22 

IV. Indian Life — the Stanberry Affair . . .37 
V. Texas at the Beginning of the Struggle for 

Independence 53 

VI. Houston's Arrival in Texas — the Outbreak 

of the War 74- 

VII. Battle of Concepcion — Capture op San Antonio 97 
VIII. Organization of the Provisional Government — 

Houston elected Commander-in-Chief . .117 
IX. Fall of the Alamo — Creation of the Republic 137 

X. The Massacre of Goliad 161 

XT. San Jacinto 184 

XII. First Term as President 218 

XIII. Second Term as President — Annexation . 249 

XIV. Senator of the United States .... 296 
XV. Governor of Texas — Secession .... 333 

XVI. Last Years — Death 363 

XVII. Cbl!Iracteristics 378 

Bibliography . . 397 

Index 401 



SAM HOUSTON 



AND 



THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE IN TEXAS 



CHAPTER I 

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 



Samuel, or as he called and signed himself, and as 
he is known in the familiar language of history, Sam 
Houston, was born on the 2d of March, 1793, at a place 
called Timber Ridge Church, about seven miles east of 
Lexing-ton, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He came 
from that strong and sturdy Scotch-Irish stock which 
has given so many notable names to American history 
and exercised so powerful an influence in the forma- 
tive period of the nation. There was a good deal in 
Sam Houston's character and temperament to indicate 
a Celtic admixture in the somewhat dour and sober 
strain of the Presbyterian Scotch-Irish, but there is no 
name in the records of the family genealogy to indicate 
it, and it must have been from very remote atavism 
or the accident of individual constitution. The Hous- 
ton family was of Lowland-Scotch origin, of sufficient 
rank to have a coat of arms, and representatives of 
its branches have occupied positions of provincial im- 



2 SAM HOUSTON 

portance. There is a family tradition that its repre- 
sentative took part in the defense of Londonderry, but 
as there is also one that John Houston, the founder 
of the American branch of the family, came to this 
country in 1689, the year of the siege, this may be 
considered as doubtful so far as the immediate ances- 
tor of Houston is concerned. The name of James 
Huston is, however, to be found attached to the 
loyal address to King William by the defenders of 
Londonderry signed the 29th of July, 1689. John 
Houston, who was possessed of considerable means 
and was apparently the leader of an emigrant colony 
of his compatriots, settled in Philadelphia, and left a 
numerous family of children. His grandson Robert 
Houston removed to Virginia, purchased a consider- 
able tract of land in Rockbridge County, and married 
a lady of the Scotch families of Davidson and Dunlop. 
He also left a numerous family, who became con- 
nected with the representatives of the gentry of the 
neighborhood. His son Samuel inherited the estate 
and married a Miss Elisabeth Paxton, whose family 
had been associated with his own in the emigration 
from Ireland and its subsequent life in America. 
The position of the family in Virginia was evidently 
not that of the manorial gentry of the seaboard and 
eastern river valleys, but that of the wealthier farmers 
of the interior, who lived in rude plenty mainly by 
their own labor, and formed a class of substantial and 
independent yeomen. Samuel Houston served with 
credit, if not with great distinction, in General Daniel 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 3 

Morgan's brigade of riflemen during the Revolution- 
ary War, and at its close was appointed Major and 
Assistant Inspector - General of the frontier troops. 
He died while on a toui' of duty in the Alleghany 
Mountains in 1806, leaving his widow with a family 
of six sons and three daughters. Tradition describes 
Major Houston as a man of large frame, command- 1, 
ing presence, indomitable courage and a passion for 
military life. Mrs. Houston was also remarkable for 
her magnificent physique, and was a woman of great 
force of character, respected and beloved in the 
neighborhood for her benevolence and helpfulness, 
and impressing her individuality and influence deeply 
upon the mind and memory of the most distinguished 
of her children, who always spoke of her with rev- 
erence and affection. After the death of her hus- 
band, with the vigor and energy characteristic of that 
pioneer age, she determined to remove to the new 
settlements in Tennessee ; and with her young family, 
Sam being then thirteen years of age, she crossed the 
Alleghany Mountains, and settled in Blount County at 
a point eight miles east of the Tennessee Eiver, then 
the boundary between the tribe of Cherokee Indians 
and their white neighbors. Here a cabin was built, a 
clearing was opened, and the family lived in the rude 
and toilsome frontier fashion, while wresting a living 
from the wilderness. 

Houston's reminiscences of his boyhood included a 
few months of schooling in what was called the " Old 
Field School," kept in a dilapidated building in the 



4 SAM HOUSTON 

neighborhood, once occupied by Washington 4M^ver- 
n-via^ -^i^? which had been removed to Lexington ; and that 
' he used to run from his work in the fields to take his 
place in the spelling class. Only the simplest rudi- 
ments of an education could have been given in a 
country school in a thinly peopled agricidtural neigh- 
borhood like that of Rockbridge County, and in a 
pioneer settlement like that in East Tennessee the 
opportunities must have been even less. Whatever 
education Houston acquired in his early youth must 
have been due to his active mind and fervid imagina- 
tion, eagerly feeding upon what books came in his 
way and possessing them with a fullness and reality 
unknown to those whose minds are satiated and 
dulled with an abundance and variety of reading. 
Among the few books which had come to the frontier 
settlement in the pack-saddles and in the corners of 
chests among the homespun garments and household 
implements, and which were read by the light of the 
fat pine fire, was Pope's translation of the Iliad, and 
this was devoured by the boy with all the fervid 
appetite of vigorous youtliful imagination, until he 
knew it nearly by heart. The artificiality of Pope's 
style, which is an offense and an obstruction to the 
refined literary taste that requires the purest flavor 
for its fastidious palate, was no drawback in the eager 
appetite of the boy to the appreciation of the reality 
of the heroic figures and the fresh and immortal 
drama "of human life behind it ; and the battles on 
the windy plains of the Scamander, the camp-fires, 



/• 



^. 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 5 

the ships, and the walls of Troy were as visible and 
real to him as the woods and fields of the Tennessee 
valleys. Such a book was an education in itself in 
all that relates to human life, in the elevation of the 
spirit and the kindling of the imagination. Through- 
out his life Houston was a man of few books. When 
commander of the Texas army he deeply studied 
Caesar's Commentaries for their simple and sagacious 
lessons of war, which he assimilated with a native 
intuition, as well as for the severe fascination of the 
narrative. He read and appreciated Shakespeare and 
had some familiarity with the standards of English 
classical literature ; in his later years, after he became 
" converted," he read the Bible thoroughly and con- 
stantly, so that its phraseology tinged his oratory. 
But his reading was always limited. His wisdom 
and knowledge came from contact with men ; and his 
literary gifts, his power of vigorous and impressive 
writing on great subjects, and his persuasive and fig- 
urative eloquence were due to native faculties, to the 
power of his mind compelling appropriate words, and 
the kindling force of his genius elevating and illumi- 
nating common speech, and not to any training in the 
arts of rhetoric or the study of masters of language 
and expression. 

It was during his early residence in East Tennessee 
that occurred the first of his recorded escapades, that 
breaking out of the wild blood, the longing for 
adventure and the free life of the wilderness in the 
companionship of its children, which characterized his 



6 SAM HOUSTON 

whole career and was a part of his nature. He had 
been placed by his elder brothers as a clerk in a 
trader's store, but his restless spirit revolted at the 
tame life behind the counter and the drudgery of the 
boxes and barrels, and one day he absconded across 
the Tennessee River to take up his abode with the 
Cherokees. He was received into their cabins as a 
friend and a brother, whose natural tastes and in- 
stincts were their own, and acquired that knowledge 
of and sjanpathy with the Indian character which he 
manifested through life. It is in a great measure an 
instinct, a kindred element in the blood, the inheri- 
tance of primitive nature, which enables men like 
Houston and many other pioneer adventurers and 
soldiers to be thoroughly at home in the Indian 
camps, to share the emotions and thoughts of their 
savage friends, and to govern and be trusted by them 
through the community as well as the superiority of 
their powers. The records of history and of travel are 
full of the examples of men of civilized training and 
scholarly culture who were never so much at home as 
when in the company of the children of the desert 
and the forest, whose simple natures they appreciated, 
and whose wild and free life had an irresistible touch 
of sympathy with their own instincts ; and the rule of 
inveterate hostility and antagonism between the white 
settlers of America and the aborigines has often been 
broken by cases of natural attraction and the adop- 
tion of savage life and companionship by the mem- 
bers of the civilized race. Houston had many of 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 7 

the characteristics of the Indian in his nature : his hot 
blood, his strong passions and appetites, his fondness 
for adventure and the untrammeled freedom of the 
wilderness, liis solemnly childish vanity and turn for 
histrionic effect; as well as the higher qualities of 
the native chief, a commanding personal power and 
impressiveness, a shrewdness like that of Ulysses in 
managing men and affairs, an eloquence of original 
power and impressiveness, a loftiness of spirit and the 
dominant quality of determination and courage. All 
these qualities were doubtless visible in the youth as 
in the man, and Houston was made welcome to the 
Cherokee villages and adopted into the family of one 
of the sub -chiefs of the tribe. He thoroughly ac- 
quired the Cherokee language, which is so difficult 
that it is said never to have been learned by an adult, 
wore the native dress, and was to all intents and 
purposes an Indian. It is to be said that the Chero- 
kees were among the most intelligent and civilized of 
the North American Indians, lived in cabins instead 
of wigwams, cultivated fields, and in some instances 
at this time owned negro slaves, had a written lan- 
guage of their own invention, and were not greatly 
different in their habits and manners of life from 
their pioneer neighbors. But they were Indians, and 
the flavor of wildness was as distinct among them 
as among the gypsies, and this was what attracted 
Houston and made him at home among them. When 
the place of his retreat was discovered he was visited 
by his brothers, who endeavored to persuade him to 



8 SAM HOUSTON 

return home ; but he replied, with that touch of gran- 
diloquence which always distinguished him, that he . 
preferred measuring deer-tracks to measuring tape, 
and that they might leave him in the woods. He 
remained with the Cherokees until his eighteenth 
year, occasionally returning to the white settlements 
for the supplies wanted for himself and his friends. 

At this time, finding himself in debt for the ammuni- 
tion and trinkets which he had purchased, he resolved 
to return to civilization, and wipe off the debt by 
opening a country school. The standard of qualifica- 
tion could not have been beyond the most rudimen- 
tary elements, or, with all his courage and self-confi- 
dence, Houston would not have attempted to fill 
it. It is recorded through his reminiscences that he / ♦ 
raised the price of tuition from six to eight dollars 
per annum, one third payable in corn at thirty-three 
and one half cents per bushel, one third in cash, 
and one third in variegated cotton goods, such as 
made the teacher's hunting shirt. Houston's popu- 
lar attributes were illustrated in the success of his 
school, which soon included most of the children of 
the neighborhood, and enabled him to pay off his 
not very formidable debt. 

A glimpse of Houston at this time was given by 
himself in conversation with Colonel Peter Burke, an 
old comrade of the Indian wars, who had emigrated to 
Texas after the annexation. He met Houston, then 
a senator of the United States, on the steamboat 
going up the Buffalo Bayou from Galveston to the 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 9 

town of Houston. There was a warm greeting be- 
tween the old comrades, and they sat long on the deck 
exchanging reminiscences. Finally, the conversation 
turned upon Houston's successful career, and Colonel 
Burke said, "Now, Houston, you have been Com- 
mander-in-chief of the Texan army, President of the 
Kepublic, and Senator of the United States. In which 
of these offices, or at what period in your career, have 
you felt the greatest pride and satisfaction ? " " Well, 
Burke," said Houston, " when a young man in Ten- 
nessee I kept a country school, being then about 
eighteen years of age, and a tall, straj)ping fellow. At 
noon after the luncheon, which I and my pupils ate 
together out of our baskets, I would go out into the 
woods, and cut me a ' sour wood ' stick, trim it care- 
fully in circular spirals, and thrust one half of it into 
the fire, which would turn it blue, leaving the other 
haK white. With this emblem of ornament and 
authority in my hand, dressed in a hunting-shirt of \ 
flowered calico, a long queue down my back, and the ; 
sense of authority over my pupils, I experienced a 
higher feeling of dignity and self-satisfaction than 
from any office or honor which I have since held." 

After teaching for a time Houston attended a 
session or two of the Academy at Maryville, which 
completed all the education that he was ever to 
receive from the schools.* The war between the 
United States and Great Britain had broken out, 
and the drum was beaten on the frontier for recruits. 
In 1813 a recruiting party visited Maryville, and 



10 SAM HOUSTON 

Houston enlisted as a private soldier, being then in 
his twentieth year. He replied to the remonstrances 
of his friends at the supposed degradation of his en- 
listment with his customary grandiloquence and self- 
confidence, that he would sooner honor the ranks 
than disgrace an appointment, and that they should 
hear of him. According to his reminiscences in later 
life his mother admonished him in the spirit and 
almost in the language of a Roman matron of the 
melodramatic stage, handing him his musket at the 
cabin door, and saying, " There, my son, take this 
musket, and never disgrace it ; for remember, I had 
rather all my sons should fill one honorable grave 
than that one of them should turn his back to save 
his life. Go ; and remember, too, that while the door 
of my cabin is open to brave men, it is eternally shut 
to all cowards ! " These words show that Mrs. Hous- 
ton was remarkably like her son in the use of inflated 
language, or that he supplied what he considered the 
proper expression to a more plain-spoken but vigor- 
ous and spirited admonition. 



\ 



CHAPTER II 

• THE YOUNG SOLDIER 

Haying taken the silver dollar from the head of 
the drum, which was the recognized token of enlist- 
ment in those days, and put on a uniform, Houston 
was made a sergeant the same day, and marched with 
his detachment to join the Thirty-ninth Regiment, 
Tennessee Volunteers. He was stationed with his reg- 
iment at various cantonments in Alabama and Ten- 
nessee, and by his active zeal and devotion to duty 
acquired the reputation of being the best drill officer 
in the command. He was, however, not left long in 
the ranks. His friends made application to Presi- 
dent Madison for an appointment, and he received a 
commission as ensign, which reached him while the 
regiment was stationed atKnoxville. 

It was the period of the Creek war. That powerful 
tribe had been aroused by the eloquence of Tecumseh 
and his brother, the Prophet, as well as by the sense 
of the constant aggression of the whites, and the 
knowledge that only a desperate struggle could save 
them from being crowded out of their lands and 
home. They broke out into a sudden attack upon 
the white settlements, and perpetrated the massacre 
at Fort Minis in Alabama, August 10, 1813. They 



12 SAM HOUSTON 

were defeated by the troops under General Jackson 
and General Coffee at Talladega and Taluschatchee, 
their country ravaged, and their villages burned. But 
the spirit of the tribe was yet unbroken, and the war 
smouldered and spluttered along the border in the 
burning of cabins and raids upon the outlying settlers. 
It was determined to put an end to it by a decisive 
and exterminating campaign, and the volunteer troops 
were again called out under Jackson and Coffee. 
Houston's regiment joined this army, and marched to 
the scene of hostilities. The fighting remnant of the 
tribe had rallied for a last stand at To-ho-pe-ka, or the 
Horseshoe, a bend on the Tallaj)oosa River in Ala- 
bama, which they had fortified by breastworks across 
the neck of the peninsula. Here were gathered some 
seven hundred warriors, the flower of the fighting men 
of the nation, and three hundred women and phildren. 
At this place Jackson's army, numbering about two 
thousand men, arrived on the 27th of August, 1814. 

The battle of To-ho-pe-k^ was one of the most 
hotly contested and desperate which has ever been 
fought by the Indian race against civilized arms and 
discipline. The Indians had been wrought up to a 
high pitch of enthusiasm and desperation by the fer- 
vent appeals and predictions of their prophets and 
chiefs, and the natural strength of their position gave 
them additional confidence. The inclosure, about a 
hundred acres in extent, was trenched with ravines, 
and thickly wooded with trees and bush. Across the 
opening, which was about three hundred and fifty 



THE YOUNG SOLDIER 13 

yards in width, was built a breastwork of three rows 
of heavy pine logs, set upright in the ground, and 
arranged with some military skill in zigzags for a rak- 
ing as well as a front fire. The rest of the peninsula 
was protected by the steep banks of the unfordable 
river. 

Jackson drew up his main body in a line fronting 
the breastworks, and the battle was begun at half 
past ten o'clock in the forenoon by the fire of his 
small cannon, a four and a six pounder, which had 
been planted on an eminence about eighty yards from 
the breastworks. These balls had no effect on the solid 
pine logs, and were saluted with whoops of derision 
by the Indians, as they replied through the port-holes 
to the rifle fire of the besiegers. In the mean time 
General Coffee with the mounted troops and the 
bands of Cherokees who had joined the whites 
against their neighbors, the Creeks, had invested the 
peninsula on the opposite side of the river. Some of 
the Cherokees swam across the stream, and brought 
away the canoes, which the Creeks had hidden under 
the bushes of the bank. By these canoes General 
Coffee's troops were taken across, and the crack of 
their rifles and the smoke from the burning cabins 
at the head of the peninsula announced to Jackson's 
army that the Creeks had been taken in the rear. It 
was then half past twelve. The long roll was beaten 
and the order given to charge the breastworks. The 
onset was made with all the vigor and fury of the 
fiery frontiersmen. 



14 SA3I HOUSTON 

Houston at the extreme right of his regiment 
dashed forward in front of the line as it charged upon 
the breastworks, which were spitting fire at every 
crevice. With a spring and a scramble he gained the 
top of the palisade from which Major Montgomery of 
his regiment had just fallen dead with a rifle ball in 
his head. As he did so a barbed arrow struck deep 
in his thigh. He sprang down, and at the head of 
the rush of men who had followed drove the Indians 
back from the palisade to take refuge among the trees 
and brush. As the space was cleared and the battle 
paused for a moment Houston called upon the lieu- 
tenant of the company to pull out the arrow. Twice 
he made the attempt and failed, it was so deeply 
embedded in the flesh. Drawing back his sword over 
his head Houston roared to him to try again, and that 
he would cut him down if he failed. This time, 
exerting all his strength, the lieutenant pulled out the 
arrow, leaving a gaping and jagged wound from which 
the blood gushed in a stream. Houston recrossed the 
breastworks to have it stanched. While under the 
surgeon's hands he was seen by Jackson, who was 
watching the fight on horseback. Jackson ordered 
him to the rear. Houston made light of his wound, 
and begged to be allowed to rejoin the fight, but was 
peremptorily refused. He disobeyed after Jackson 
had moved off, recrossed the breastworks, and again 
engaged in the conflict. It was fought with all the 
fury of savage desperation. The Indians, driven from 
the palisade, took refuge in the ravines and behind 



THE YOUNG SOLDIER 15 

the trees and bushes. From these they fired, and 
were shot by the quick rifles of the frontiersmen, or 
killed in hand-to-hand conflicts in which clubbed rifle 
crashed against clubbed rifle, and hunting-knife struck 
against tomahawk. Not a warrior asked for or re- 
ceived quarter. The fight raged over the hundred- 
acre space all the afternoon, until the larger number 
of the Indians had been killed in their tracks, or shot 
while endeavoring to swim the turbid waters of the 
river. 

A small band of the warriors bad, meanwhile, taken 
refuge in a deep ravine close to the river on one side 
of the breastworks. It was roofed with lieavy pine 
logs, and almost as impregnable to assault as a cave. 
The only way in which it could be taken was by a 
direct charge upon the narrow entrance. An inter- 
preter was sent forward to summon them to surrender, 
but they replied with a shot, which wounded him, and 
with yells of rage and defiance. Jackson called for 
volunteers to storm the ravine, but the task was* so 
evidently desperate that no body of men gathered to 
respond to the call. Houston dashed forward, calling 
upon his men to follow him, but without looking back 
to see if they did so. When within a few yards of 
the entrance he received two bullets in his shoulder, 
and his upper right arm was shattered. His musket 
fell from his hand, and he was helpless. No one had 
supported his charge, and he drew back out of the 
range of the fire. It was not until the logs covering 
the ravine had been set on fire by blazing arrows, and 



16 S am' HOUSTON 

the desperate warriors had been shot as they burst 
out of the smoke and flame, that the last refuge 
crumbled in ashes and blood. It was sunset when 
the battle was over, and the last hope of the Creek 
nation was crushed. In his report of the battle to 
his superior officer. General Pinckney, Jackson does 
not mention the exploit of Houston's, although it 
took place under his eye, but his name is contained 
in the list of the wounded of his regiment afterward 
forwarded to Governor Blount of Tennessee. It, how- 
ever, gained for Houston Jackson's friendship and 
confidence, which he retained throughout his life. 

Houston was borne from the field and put in charge 
of the surgeons. They considered his wounds neces- 
sarily fatal, although it does not appear why they 
should, unless they believed his lungs to be touched. 
They extracted one bullet, but made no attempt to 
probe for the other in an unnecessary torture. He 
lay all night on the damp ground, receiving none of 
the attention which was given to those whose wounds 
were not considered mortal. In the morning he was 
found to be alive, placed on a rude litter, and conveyed 
to Fort Williams, some sixty or seventy miles distant. 
Here he received only some rude surgery, the regu- 
lar hospital for the wounded officers being at a place 
called the Hickory Ground. He was kindly cared 
for, however, a part of the time by Colonel Johnson 
and a part of the time by Colonel Cheatham, two 
volunteer officers from his State. At length he 
was removed to the Ten Islands, where there was a 



THE YOUNG SOLDIER 17 

military post and hospital. General Dougherty, who 
commanded the East Tennessee brigade, had him 
conveyed by horse litter several hundred miles through 
the Cherokee country to his mother's cabin. The 
journey was intensely painful from the rough method 
of conveyance, and he could only be supplied with the 
coarsest food. It was nearly two months after the 
battle of To-ho-pe-ka when he reached his mother's 
house. He was emaciated to a skeleton by his wounds 
and privations, and so changed that his mother said 
that she would not have recognized him, except for 
his eyes. 

He did not recover at home under his mother's care, 
nor at Marysville, where he was taken for medical 
treatment. Finally he was removed to Knoxville, 
which he reached in so low a condition of vitality 
that the doctor said that he could live but a few days, 
and declined to take charge of his case. Finding at 
the end of that time that Houston was not only not 
dead, but actually somewhat better, he consented to 
treat him. He slowly recovered strength, and after a 
time was able to make the journey on horseback to 
Washington, which he reached shortly after the burn- 
ing of the Capitol in the raid of the British troops. 
Being still unfit for active duty, he returned to Lex- 
ington, Ya., where he spent a portion of the winter 
with his relatives and friends. He continued to gain 
in strength, and returned to Knoxville, where he re- 
ceived the news of the battle of New Orleans, and was 
placed on duty at the cantonment of his regiment. 



18 SAM HOUSTON 

On the reduction of the army after the declaration of 
peace, Houston was assigned to the First Regiment of 
infantry in the regular army, having received his 
promotion to a lieutenancy for his gallantry at To-ho- 
pe-ka, and ordered to report for duty at New Orleans. 
He made the journey down the Cumberland and 
the Mississippi in a skiff with only two companions, 
one of whom was E. D. White, afterward Governor 
of Louisiana. He has recorded that while voyaging 
down the vast and lonely stream of the Mississippi 
they saw, on turning a bend, a vessel pouring out a 
stream of smoke, which they supposed to be on fire ; 
but it proved to be the first steamboat which had 
navigated its waters. They left their skiff at Natchez 
and took the steamer, which conveyed them to New 
Orleans. In New Orleans, Houston's wounds were 
again operated upon, and, in his weakened condition, 
the operation nearly cost him his life. After shatter- 
ing his right arm at nearly the junction with his 
shoulder, the bullet had passed around and lodged 
under the shoulder-blade. The wound never entirely 
healed, and constantly discharged until the day of his 
death. After a winter of weakness and suffering in 
New Orleans, he went to New York for medical treat- 
ment, and then reported for duty at the Adjutant- 
General's office in Nashville, where he was employed 
until November, 1817. At that time he was appointed 
a sub-agent of the Cherokees under General Return 
J. Meigs, at the request of General Jackson, and 
accepted the duty, although yet hardly fit for active 



THE YOUNG SOLDIER 19 

service. General Jackson wrote to Assistant Secre- 
tary of War Graham, " He is a young man of 
sonnd integrity, wlio has my entire confidence, and 
in every way he is capacitated to fill the appointment. 
Moreover he has some claims upon the government for 
a severe wound received in the service, which may be , 
considered a disability." Jackson also wrote to Gen- / 
eral Meigs, " In him I have full confidence, and in / 
him you will have a friend clear of design and deceit, 
on whom you can rely under all and every circum- I 
stance, as capable to aid you in every respect." In the 
previous year the chiefs of the Cherokees had signed 
a treaty by which they agreed to surrender 1,385,200 
acres of their best land in East Tennessee. A portion 
of the tribe were naturally indignant, and refused to 
remove from their homes. There were apprehensions 
of serious trouble when Houston was appointed, and 
his knowledge of the Cherokee language and ac- 
quaintance and friendship in the tribe doubtless made 
his influence very useful in subduing the hostility 
and ill-feeling. He received the thanks of Governor 
McMunn, who had succeeded General Meigs as agent, 
for the efficiency of his services. 

He conducted a delegation of the Cherokees to 
"Washington to receive the funds for 'the sale of their 
lands and fix the bounds of their reservation, and 
while there had trouble with John C. Calhoun, then 
Secretary of War, which resulted in the termination 
of his service in the army, and doubtless intensified 
the antagonism to that wing of the Democratic party 
represented by Calhoun, which he manifested in later 



20 SAM HOUSTON 

life. His first offense was in appearing before tlie 
punctilious Secretary dressed in the garments of an 
Indian, whicli lie habitually assumed when living with 
them. He received a rebuke for this which he did 
not relish. But a more serious charge followed. The 
Indian country was full of outlaws and desperate ad- 
venturers, who were engaged in all sorts of schemes of 
plunder and offense against the laws. One of these 
was the smuggling of slaves from Florida, then a 
province of Spain, who were taken through the Indian 
reservation to the border settlements. Houston inter- 
fered to break up this nefarious traffic, and naturally 
excited the enmity of those engaged in it. Some of 
them or their agents in Washington made charges 
against Houston affecting his official integrity and 
personal conduct. He appeared before President 
Madison and Secretary Calhoun, and successfully de- 
fended himself, and having concluded his agency 
business in Washington, conducted the Cherokee dele- 
gation back to the Hilli-bee towns. But his hasty 
temper had taken umbrage at the unwarranted attacks 
upon him, and the spirit in which the inquiry into 
his conduct had been instituted by the Secretary of 
War, and he resigned. May 18, 1818. He was then 
a first lieutenant,' and had served for &ve years. 

Houston's service in the army of the United States 
was useful and creditable, although he did not rise 
above a subordinate, or take part in any important 
military operation. He earned the respect and com- 
mendation of his superior officers, and was noted for 
his zeal and capacity as a soldier. It was Houston's 



THE YOUNG SOLDIER 21 

bravery under Ms own eyes whicli attracted the friend- 
ship and confidence of Jackson, which he retained 
through all the vicissitudes of his career. On the other 
hand Houston conceived a respect and admiration for 
Jackson, which made him a devoted follower, person- 
ally and politically, and the only person, it was said, to 
whose judgment he deferred, and who could influence 
his actions. In many respects alike in passion and 
temperament, and both characteristic products of the 
untamed and vigorous life of the frontier, they had 
essential elements of difference in habits and charac- 
ter, and the stronger, more self-contained and sterner 
nature of Jackson dominated the more impassioned 
and enthusiastic temperament of Houston. 

Senator Benton in his speech in the Senate, May 
16, 1836, in favor of acknowledging the indepen- 
dence of Texas as a consequence of the battle of San 
Jacinto, bore testimony, in his somewhat higliflown 
and stilted way, to the good qualities of Houston as 
a young soldier. He said, " Houston was appointed 
an ensign in the army of the United States during 
the late war with Great Britain, and served in the 
Creek campaign under the banner of Jackson. I was 
the lieutenant-colonel of the regiment to which he be- 
longed, and the first field-officer to whom he reported. 
I then marked in him the same soldierly and gentle- 
manly qualities, which have since distinguished his 
eventful career ; frank, generous and brave, ready to 
do or to suffer whatever the obligations of civil or mili- 
tary duty imposed ; and always prompt to answer the 
call of honor, patriotism or friendship." 



CHAPTER III 

MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE 

After leaving the army Houston determined to 
become a lawyer, which in those days in the South- 
west was synonymous with politician. For this career 
he doubtless felt his remarkable fitness and vocation 
as a popular orator and manager of men. He had 
contracted some debts while in the service, on account 
of extra expenses caused by his wounds, and he sold 
his only piece of property, some land, to pay them ; 
it failed to do so entirely, and he began his new 
life some hundreds of dollars in debt. He entered 
the law office of Hon. James Trimble in Nashville, 
and was admitted to the bar after six months' study. 
It may be supposed that the examination was not very 
strict, and the requirements of technical knowledge 
not very exhaustive. Andrew Jackson had been made 
a district attorney without knowing how to spell, and 
a knowledge of the intricacies of the law and the pre- 
cedents of the courts was of much less consequence 
for a successful practitioner than a flow of popular 
oratory for the jury, and a courage to hold one's own 
with the fighting attorneys, who occasionally supple- 
mented the heated debate in the court room by a per- 
sonal encounter outside. At any rate Houston never 



MEMBER OF CONGRESS 23 

was and never pretended to be a lawyer in the pro- 
fessional sense of the term. He was the political 
attorney in Tennessee, using the opportunities of the 
court room to show his powers of rough and ready 
eloquence, and to obtain professional and political 
office ; and in Texas, during the rare intervals when 
he was not holding some public position, he some- 
times went on circuit and made effective stimip 
speeches to juries in criminal cases. But he never 
studied and never knew anything of the law beyond 
those general principles which are readily appreciated 
by a strong and capacious mind, and the easy and 
slipshod requirements of frontier practice. In this 
he was probably not inferior to most of his associates, 
and was able to hold his own with credit and success 
among the attorneys who traveled the circuits of Ten- 
nessee, with their libraries in their saddle-bags and a 
ready tongue and pistol as their chief requirements 
for successful practice. 

After being admitted to the bar Houston settled in 
Lebanon, Tennessee, bought his books on credit, and 
hired an office at a dollar a month. He was received 
with much kindness by Isaac GoUaday, a merchant 
and postmaster of Lebanon, who sold him a suit of 
clothes, let him have his letters on credit, and in- 
troduced him to his friends. One of the pleasant 
glimpses of Houston's personal life is given in a letter 
of a son of Isaac GoUaday, to whom Houston mani- 
fested his gratitude for his father's kindness, while 
sick and a stranger in Texas : — 



24 SAM HOUSTON 

" I was traveling in Texas in 1853. Arrived at 
tlie town of Huntsville, Walker County, on Sunday 
at about eleven o'clock. The good people of the town 
and the vicinity were passing on to the church as I 
rode up to the hotel. I was very sick ; had a high 
fever on me when I dismounted. I told the landlord 
I was very sick and wanted a room ; he assigned me 
a room and was very kind in his attentions. I took a 
bed immediately, and while talking to him asked him 
in what part of the State General Houston lived. He 
re^jlied, ' He lives about one and a half miles from 
town, and his family and he have just passed, going 
to church in their carriage.' To this I said, ' Please 
keep on the lookout, and when he returns from 
church let him know that a Golladay of Tennessee is 
lying sick here I ' After the church hour was over, 
say twelve or one o'clock, a large, portly, elegant- 
looking man came walking into my room and to my 
bedside. I knew from the description which I had 
had of him that it was General Houston, although I 
had never seen him. I called him by name. He 
asked me if I was the son of his old friend, Isaac 
Golladay, of Lebanon, Tennessee. I replied I was. 
He then asked me which one. I told him I was 
Frederick. He said he knew my elder brothers, but 
he had left Lebanon before I was born, but added, 
' If you are the son of Isaac Golladay I recognize you 
as the child of an old and true friend. I went to 
Lebanon, where your father resided, a poor young 
man ; your father furnished me an office for the prac- 



MEMBER OF CONGRESS 25 

tice of law ; credited me in Ms store for clothes ; let 
me have the letters, which then cost twenty-five cents 
postage, from the office of which he was postmaster ; 
invited me to his house, and recommended me to all 
the good j)eople of his large general acquaintance.' 
He then said, ' You must go out to my house. I will 
come in my carriage for you in the evening.' I re- 
plied with thanks that I was too sick to go, but he 
insisted on coming for me the next morning, to which 
I consented. Early the next morning he came for 
me ; being better, I went out to his house with him. 
He placed me in a room in his yard, saying that Mrs. 
H. was confined to her room with an infant at that 
time. My fever rose and kept me confined. He sent 
for a physician. I was sick there for about ten days 
or two weeks. He made a servant-man stay and sleep 
in the office with me, to wait on me all the while, but 
would often come and see me, and spend much of his 
time with me. One night, especially, while I was 
sick, the doctor had left orders for my medicine to be 
given me during the night, and my feet bathed with 
warm water. He stayed all night with me. He had 
the vessel of warm water brought, pulled oif his coat, 
rolled up his sleeves, to wash my feet. I objected, 
the servant being present. He replied, ' My Master 
washed His disciples' feet, and I would follow His 
glorious example,' and insisted that he should do so. 
During the time which he spent with me in my sick 
room, he gave me much of his early history." 

Houston soon began to be a figure in public life* 



26 SAM HOUSTON 

His remarkable gifts for popularity, the impressive- 
ness and friendliness of his manners, his natural 
powers of adaptability to all societies, which made him 
as much at home while telling stories on a store-box 
or a wagon tongue as in a parlor, and his cultivated 
dignity of port and gesture gave him the essentials 
of political success. He was, besides, the friend and 
devoted follower of Andrew Jackson, who exercised a 
sort of political kingship in Tennessee in those days. 
While practicing law in Lebanon he was, in 1819, 
appointed Adjutant-General of the State with the 
rank of colonel, and in October of the same year 
he was elected prosecuting attorney for the Davidson 
District, which necessitated his removal to Nashville. 
After his curious egotistical and sentimental fashion 
he addressed a farewell to the citizens of Lebanon 
from the court-house steps, in which he said, " I was 
naked and ye clothed me ; I was hungry and ye fed 
me ; I was athirst and ye gave me drink," and moved 
the hearts of his hearers to such a degree that, accord- 
ing to the contemporary account, " there was not a 
dry eye in the whole assembly." Houston performed 
his duties as prosecuting attorney with success and 
eclat, but resigned the office on account of the in- 
sufficiency of the fees. He continued the practice 
of law in Nashville, and in 1821 was elected major- 
general of the Tennessee militia, a wholly political 
and mainly' honorary office. 

In 1823, when thirty years of age, Houston was 
elected a Kepresentative to Congress from the ninth 



MEMBER OF CONGRESS 27 

district of Tennessee under the new apportionment. 
Houston served in Congress for four years without 
special distinction, occasionally taking part in the de- 
bates, and acting as a member of the Jackson wing 
of the Democratic party. Jackson had been elected 
a Senator by the Tennessee legislature shortly after 
Houston's election as Eepresentative, and both were 
members of the Committee on Military Affairs. 
Houston in common with the other Jacksonian mem- 
bers opposed the resolution offered by Henry Clay, 
then Speaker of the House, for an inquiry into his 
political conduct, made personal by the charges of 
George Kremer, a Representative from Pennsylvania, 
in the newspapers, of a corrupt bargain by which 
John Quincy Adams was to be elected President and 
Clay made Secretary of State. Houston issued an 
address to his constituents giving as reasons for this 
opposition that it would be simply a political investi- 
gation and that the proper remedy for the personal 
grievance would be found in the courts. The main 
purpose of the circular, however, was to intensify the 
populai? indignation at the defeat of Jackson, who had 
obtained a plurality of the electoral votes, and to 
strengthen the feeling which carried Jackson into the 
presidential chair at the next election by an over- 
whelming majority. Houston's address was written in 
that forcible and dignified language, which he always 
had at his command when dealing with questions of 
state, and indicated that he had received a valuable 
education in the comprehension and treatment of pub- 



28 SAM HOUSTON 

lie affairs by liis experience in the halls of Congress. 
Congress at that time contained a number of notable 
men, including Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John 
Randolph, the veteran of the House, the venerable 
Nathaniel Macon, and others, and the debates and the 
consideration of public affairs were on a plane which 
could not but have afforded a man of Houston's 
quickness of mind and enlarging capacity very impor- 
tant lessons of comprehension and dignity. Houston's 
eccentricities were generally kept for an appropriate 
audience, and there is no reason to doubt that as a 
Representative in Congress he conducted himself as a 
sober-minded and practical legislator, if he did not 
distinguish himself beyond the lines of a political fol- 
lower of Andrew Jackson, or make a special mark 
as a debater. 

It was during Houston's second term as a member 
of Congress that his first and only serious duel took 
place. The appointments of postmasters under the 
new Federal Administration were naturally not of 
the Jackson-Houston party. One Colonel Irwin had 
been appointed postmaster at Nashville, and Houston 
had expressed his opinion about him with that vigor 
which always characterized his animadversions upon 
his political opponents. Houston's words were car- 
ried to Colonel Irwin, and it was understood that 
he would hold him personally responsible for them 
on his return to Tennessee. Colonel Irwin selected 
as the bearer of his challenge one Colonel John 
T. Smith, a noted desperado of Missouri ; Houston's 



MEMBER OF CONGRESS 29 

friend, Colonel McGregor, refused to accept the 
challenge from Smith's hands. The challenge was 
offered and refused in front of the Nashville Inn, 
McGregor dropping the paper to the ground as it 
was handed to him. No encounter followed between 
Smith and McGregor, as was expected, and the news 
of the action was taken to Houston, who was in a 
room of the inn with some of his friends. General 
William White, who was present, expressed himself 
to the effect that Smith had not been treated with 
proper courtesy. Houston overheard the remark, and 
said to White, " If you, sir, have any grievance, I 
will give you any satisfaction you may demand." 
White replied, " I have nothing to do with your diffi- 
culty, but I presume you know what is due from one 
gentleman to another." Nothing farther followed at 
the time, and it was soon spread about the streets of 
Nashville that Houston had " backed down " General 
White. This attack upon his courage reached the 
ears of General White, and he sent a challenge to 
Houston, which was promptly accepted. An attempt 
was made by the sheriff to arrest them both for the 
preservation of the peace, but Houston escaped to the 
house of a friend in an adjoining county, and sent 
word to White, who had also evaded arrest, that he 
was ready to meet him across the state line in Ken- 
tucky. The duel was fought at sunrise, September 
23, 1826, at a noted dueling - ground in Simpson 
County known by the name of Linkumpinch, just 
across the Tennessee line, and on the road from Nash- 



30 SAM HOUSTON 

ville to Bowling Green. White was severely, and it 
was supposed at first mortally, wounded, having been 
shot through the body at the hip. Houston escaped 
untouched. As they took their places to fire Houston 
was observed to slij) something into his mouth w^hich 
he afterward explained was a bullet, which he had 
placed between his teeth on the advice of Jackson, 
who said that it was good to have something in the 
mouth to bite on, — " It will make you aim better." 
On the evening of the day of the fight a large 
crowd was gathered at the Nashville Inn to hear the 
news, and among them General Jackson. Presently 
one John G. Anderson, " a noted character " and a 
friend of Houston's, who had witnessed the duel, 
came dashing over the bridge on horseback with the 
news that Houston was unharmed and White mor- 
tally wounded. The grand jury of Simpson County 
in June, 1827, brought in an indictment against 
Houston for felony in shooting at William White 
with intent to kill, and the Governor of Kentucky 
issued a requisition on the Governor of Tennessee 
for his surrender. It was not complied with on the 
ground that the facts showed that Houston had 
" acted in self-defefise." In fact a prosecution for 
such an offense in those dueling days must have 
been understood as a farce, and the fight undoubt- 
edly increased Houston's popularity as an evidence of 
his "game." 

Houston's bitter and abusive tongue frequently got 
him into personal difficulties in which the " satisfac- 



MEMBER OF CONGRESS 31 

tion of a gentleman " was demanded by his antago- 
nists ; but be never fought again, while sober, and was 
equally ready with a lofty assumption of dignity or a 
joke to avoid the necessity. To a challenge from a 
political inferior in Texas he rej)lied that he " never 
fought down hill." On another occasion, when called 
to account by a gentleman whom he had been de- 
nouncing, he said, " Why, H., I thought you were a 
friend of mine." " So I was, but I do not propose to 
be abused by you or anybody else." " Well, I should 
like to know," said Houston, " if a man can't abuse 
his friends, who in h — he can abuse," and the affair 
ended in a laugh. Mr. John J. Linn in his " Remi- 
niscences of Fifty Years in Texas " tells the story 
that Houston and ex-President Burnet had an acri- 
monious newspaper controversy in which they bandied 
abusive epithets until finally Houston accused Burnet 
of being a " hog-thief." There was no retort in Texan 
phraseology capable of over-matching this, and Burnet 
sent a challenge to Houston by Dr. Branch T. Archer. 
" What does he predicate the demand upon ? " said 
Houston in his loftiest manner. Archer replied that 
it was for his abuse of Mr. Burnet. " Has n't he 
abused me to an equal degree ? He has done so pub- 
licly and privately until I am compelled to believe 
that the people are equally disgusted with both of us." 
Houston's dignity of manner overpowered Archer, 
and he took back the challenge. Houston received 
challenges from President Lamar, General Albert 
Sidney Johnston and Commodore E. W. Moore of 



32 SAM HOUSTON 

the Texas navy, and a good many others, whicli lie 
did not accept. On one occasion being visited by a 
gentleman with a warlike message, he took the chal- 
lenge and handed it to his private secretary with in- 
structions to indorse it " number fourteen," and file 
it away. He then informed the expectant gentleman 
that his affair must wait its turn until the previous 
thirteen had been disposed of. It is perhaps a won- 
der that he preserved his reputation for courage in 
such a community as that of Texas, while persist- 
ently declining to fight, but it does not seem to have 
been seriously doubted. In a speech to his constitu- 
ents at Tellico, after his duel with White, Houston 
said that he was opposed to dueling, but had been 
compelled to fight in defense of his honor. " Thank 
God," he said, " that my antagonist was injured no 
worse." There is no record of how his affair with 
the Nashville postmaster terminated, but it certainly 
led to no more fighting. 

This same year, 1827, Houston was elected gov- 
ernor of Tennessee by a majority of 12,000 over New- 
ton Cannon, and Willie Blount, the old " war gover- 
nor." Houston doubtless owed much to his personal 
popularity, but his nomination and election were due 
to the fact that he was the representative of the per- 
sonal party of Andrew Jackson, which his compet- 
itors opposed. Of his appearance at the time of his 
election there is a vivid and minute portrait in the 
reminiscences of Colonel D. D. Claiborne of Goliad, 
Texas, who saw him with the eager and impression- 



GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE 33 

able eyes of a boy. It shows Houston in that theatri- 
cal and sensational manner of dress which was a 
characteristic of him as long as he lived, and which 
only his magnificent physique and lofty manner could 
have prevented from seeming ridiculous and puerile. 
Says Colonel Claiborne : — 

" He wore on that day (August 2, 1827) a tall, 
bell-crowned, medium-brimmed, shining black beaver 
hat, shining black patent-leather military stock or 
cravat, incased by a standing collar, ruffled shirt, 
black satin vest, shining black silk pants gathered 
to the waistband with legs full, same size from seat 
to ankle, and a gorgeous, red-ground, many-colored 
gown or Indian hunting-shirt, fastened at the waist by 
a huge red sash covered with fancy bead-work, with 
an immense silver buckle, embroidered silk stockings, 
and pumps with large silver buckles. Mounted on a 
superb dapple-gray horse he appeared at the election 
unannounced, and was the observed of all observers." 

But however bizarre and fantastic was Houston's 
appearance on election day, his practical good sense 
and statesmanship were manifested in the office ; and 
his executive administration was successful, and his 
legislative recommendations conservative. 

Houston was a candidate for reelection for a second 
term against the formidable opposition of General 
William Carroll, who had commanded the left wing 
of Jackson's army at New Orleans, and had been 
Governor of Tennessee for three terms previous to 
Houston's election ; he was ineligible for the fourth 



34 SAM HOUSTON 

term in succession owing to the prohibitive provision 
of the State Constitution. The canvass was proceed- 
ing, apparently in Houston's favor, when the event 
occurred which put an end to his successful career as 
a politician in Tennessee, and apparently ruined him 
forever. On the 16th of April, 1829, he sent in his 
resignation to the Secretary of State. In January of 
that year Houston had been married to a Miss Eliza 
Allen, daughter of a wealthy and influential family of 
Sumner County, which was numbered among his polit- 
ical friends and adherents. After three months of 
marriage his wife left him and returned to her father's 
house. Houston wrote to her father, asking him to 
persuade his wife to return, but she refused, and he 
threw up his hold on fortune and life. The cause of 
the trouble between Houston and his wife has never 
been definitely revealed. The only words which he 
ever wrote on the matter were contained in a letter 
in which he said : " Eliza stands acquitted by me. 
I have received her as a virtuous, chaste wife, and as 
such I pray God I may ever regard her, and I trust I 
ever shall. She was cold to me, and I thought did 
not love me." The most probable explanation is that 
the young lady had been induced to marry Houston to 
gratify the desires of her parents, who were attracted 
by his brilliant political position and prospects, while 
her affections had been given to another. The inti- 
macy of married life revealed her coldness or repug- 
nance to her husband, and in a moment of quarrel 
she avowed the truth, and left him. Houston's " high- 



GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE 35 

strung " spirit and personal vanity were deeply 
wounded, and he acted with all the dramatic inten- 
sity of his nature. 

There was the wildest excitement in the frontier 
community over such an explosion of scandal. 
Houston's enemies circulated the most outrageous 
reports concerning his conduct, and the mystery, as 
it generally is, was interpreted at its worst. For a 
time there was the prospect that he would be sub- 
ject to personal violence and that there would be 
bloody affrays in the streets of Nashville over the 
affair. His friends rallied around him, but he left 
Nashville in secret, some say in disguise, and went to 
bury himself among his old friends, the Cherokees, 
a portion of whom had removed from their homes in 
Tennessee to the Indian Territory. 

Nothing could ever be extracted from Houston as 
to the cause of the separation between himself and 
his mfe, even when he had lost his self-control from 
drink, and whenever he spoke of her it was in the 
most respectful terms. Sometimes he took the in- 
quiries good-humoredly, as when he replied to Hon. 
J. H. Reagan, afterward Postmaster-General of the 
Confederacy and United States Senator, who, while 
traveling with him in Texas on the way to a con- 
ference with the Indians at Grapevine Springs, had 
called his attention to a long, pretended account of 
the affair in a newspaper. Houston merely said, 
" There has been a great deal written on that subject 
by men who know nothing about it. It is an absolute 



36 SAM HOUSTON 

secret and will always remain so." At other times 
he resented an inquiry as an unwarranted obtrusion 
into his private affairs. During his early residence 
in Texas, and when he. had no home of his own, 
Houston spent a good deal of his time at the house 
of Colonel Phil Sublett at San Augustine. One 
night he came home so intoxicated that he was un- 
able to mount to his chamber, and was accommodated 
with a pallet on the floor. Colonel Sublett thought 
this a good ojDportunity to obtain a knowledge of 
the mystery, and began to question him on the sub- 
ject. This sobered as well as angered Houston, and 
he called for his horse, declaring that he would not 
remain longer in a house where an attempt was 
made to take advantage of his condition to extract 
his secret, and he was with difficulty pacified by an 
apology. 

Mrs. Houston secured a divorce from Houston on 
the ground of abandonment, and afterward married 
a Dr. Douglass. She lived for many years in the 
town of Gallatin, Tennessee, and enjoyed the entire 
respect and esteem of the community. She was 
equally silent as to the cause of the separation of 
herself and her first husband. 



CHAPTER IV 

INDIAN LIFE — THE STANBERRY AFFAIR 

Houston went by steamboat to tbe mouth of the 
Arkansas, not being recognized on the way except at 
Napoleon, where he was seen by a friend from whom 
he exacted a promise not to betray his identity ; from 
thence he traveled by way of Little Rock, where he 
addressed a farewell letter to General Jackson, to 
the mouth of the Illinois Bayou, which flows into 
the Arkansas about thirty miles below Fort Gibson. 
Here was a settlement of the Cherokees, who had pre- 
ceded the forced emigration of the tribe in 1838, and 
settled in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. A 
treaty had been made on their behalf with the Osages 
in order to secure them a location, and, after some 
quarrels and skirmishes with that tribe, they had set- 
tled into permanent and peaceful residence. 

At the mouth of the Illinois was Tah-lon-tees-kee, 
the principal town and council house of the tribe, 
and the residence of Oo-loo-tee-kah, or, as he was 
better known by his English name, John Jolly, the 
sub-chief, who had received Houston into his family 
when a boy in Tennessee, and had now become the 
principal chief of the western fragment of the tribe. 
He gave a hearty welcome to his adopted son in his 



38 SAM HOUSTON 

second flight for refuge among the tribe, and Houston 
took up his residence with him, resuming his Indian 
name of Co-lon-neh, or the Raven, and the dress and 
habits of the savage. The chief, John Jolly, is de- 
scribed as a man of great intelligence and force of 
character, and was at that time about sixty years of 
age, of massive frame, although not tall, with a rotund 
but commanding countenance, and his long locks 
plentifully sprinkled with gray. He spoke no English, 
and had none of the civilized education which some 
of the members of the tribe at that time possessed. 
His cabin was under a magnificent grove of cotton- 
woods and sycamores at the confluence of the streams, 
and he cultivated a clearing and kept a large herd of 
cattle, his wealth also comprising twelve negro slaves, 
whom he had brought with him from Tennessee. He 
lived in the patriarchal Indian fashion, and he and 
Houston have been seen seated on the floor together, 
feeding with their spoons from the trough of ka-nau- 
hee-na, or hominy boiled to the consistency of paste, 
which was always kept replenished in the centre of 
the cabin. 

Houston lived with John Jolly for upward of a 
year, was formally adopted as a member of the tribe, 
and took part in its counsels and deliberations. At 
this time the eastern Cherokees had adopted a sys- 
tem of government with a constitution and laws after 
the model of those of their white neighbors ; but the 
western Cherokees still managed their affairs after the 
aboriginal fashion. They had a principal chief and 



INDIAN LIFE 39 

sub-chiefs, wlio were the natural leaders in war and 
council, but their authority was very limited, and the 
actual government was by a republic in which the 
tribe decided all matters of importance by discussion 
and vote in a general council. The chief matters 
decided at the sessions of the council, which were 
held in an open shed, roofed with branches, were 
the relations of the tribe with the United States, as 
represented by its agents and contractors, and with 
neighboring Indian tribes, propositions for grants of 
land to missionary stations and schools, the mainte- 
nance of formal intercourse with the eastern Chero- 
kees, and such matters; and it also administered a 
rude justice for murder and theft by the bullet and 
the lash. 

It is said that Houston did not take a very promi- 
nent part in the deliberations of the council, and this 
was probably due to that feeling of jealousy toward 
the members of an alien race which would be nat- 
ural among the native Indians. He preserved the 
fondness for dress and display among the Indians 
which he had shown among the whites. The Chero- 
kees did not paint their faces and wear scalp-locks 
like their neighbors, the Osages, but they wore the 
blankets, buckskin hunting - shirts, leggings and 
moccasins, and adorned their hair with the feathers 
of the eagle and wild turkey. On state occasions 
Houston appeared m all the glory of an Indian brave. 
He has been described as wearing in full dress a white 
hunting-shirt brilliantly embroidered, yellow leggings, \ 



40 



SA. 



STON 



and moccasins elabort 
red blanket, and a c 
his head. He let his 
queue which hung do 
on his chin, shaving t. \e 
are very quick to ridi 
ners, and Houston's lu. 
did not escape their 
council meeting they 
of his attire, and stati 
he imitated his pose z 
the assembly. Housi 
tator with shrewd in 
repeated. 

Houston did not sii k 
the public attention, 
the forests of the In , 
and the dramatic mf:.; 
public life, made his 
jecture and rumor, { 
the centre of all sortr 
Among them was a 
province of Mexico 
and this took such 
with some uneasinesf 
structed a governme 
to him on the subjei 
alluding to it, which 
confidence in his f ri 
misfortunes. Jackso 



pked with beads, a huge 

turkey feathers around 

>w, and wore it in a long 

»ack, and wore his beard 

rase V >f his face. The Indians 
tricks of ways and man- 

o<itii" al dignity and splendor 
On one occasion at a 
a negro in a caricature 
CQ behind his seat, where 
ner to the great glee of 
the presence of his imi- 
39, and the joke was not 

(}Af <<i sight, or at least out of 
3 had buried himself in 
[•ritory. His reputation, 
his disappearance from 
.the subject of wild con- 
was credited with being 
rprises and conspiracies, 
i for the invasion of a 
'ce of Cherokee Indians, 
form as to be regarded 
3sident Jackson, who in- 
t in Arkansas to report 
v^rote to Houston a letter 
ws Jackson's unfaltering 
i his sympathy with his 



INDIAN LIFE 41 

" It has been communicated to me that you had the 
illegal enterprise in view of conquering Texas ; that 
you had declared that you would, in less than two 
years, be emperor of that country by conquest. 1 
must really have thought you deranged to have be- 
lieved you had so wild a scheme in contemplation ; 
and, particularly, when it was communicated that the 
physical force to be employed was the Cherokee 
Indians ! Indeed, my dear sir, I cannot believe you 
have any such chimerical, visionary scheme in view. 
Your pledge of honor to the contrary is a sufficient 
guarantee that you will never engage in any enter- 
prise injurious to your country, or that would tarnish 
your fame. . . . My affliction was great and as much 
as I could well bear, when I parted from you on the 
18th of January last. I then viewed you as on the 
brink of happiness and rejoiced. About to be united 
in marriage to a beautiful young lady, of accomplished 
manners and of respectable connections, and of your 
own selection, — you, the Governor of the State and 
holding the affections of the people ; these were your 
prospects, when I shook you by the hand and hade 
you farewell ! You can well judge my astonishment 
and grief in receiving a letter from you, dated at 
Little Rock, A. T. conveying the sad intelligence 
that you were then a private citizen, an exile from 
your country. What reverse of fortune ! How un- 
stable are human affairs ! " 

Houston himself occasionally reappeared in public 
life to take a part in affairs. He found that the 



42 SAM HOUSTON 

Indians were being outrageously swindled, as they 
have generally been, by the agents and contractors. 
The Cherokees, who had been induced to give up some 
lands on the Lower Arkansas, were to receive twenty- 
eight dollars per head for the exchange. The agents 
who were to pay them issued certificates, which they 
redeemed themselves for trifling sums, or, in Houston's 
wordsy " for a Mackinaw blanket, a flask of powder, or 
a bottle of whiskey." These frauds and others aroused 
Houston's indignation, and in 1830 he accompanied 
a delegation of the Cherokees to Washington, where 
his representations and evidence resulted in the re- 
moval of five agents, and caused the bitter hostility 
of the Indian ring. Houston himself became a bidder 
for the contract to supply the Indians with rations. 
The price which he bid was eighteen cents, and he 
secured a wealthy partner in New York to carry out 
the contract. A clamor was raised by the represen- 
tatives of the Indian ring, including Thomas L. Mc- 
Kinney, the head clerk of the Indian Bureau, whose 
connection with the discredited Indian " factory sys- 
tem " had not been above suspicion. General Duff 
Green, as a self -constituted adviser and factotum of 
President Jackson, took it upon himself to remon- 
strate, stating that the rations could be furnished for 
ten or twelve cents, and the contract was not given 
to Houston. Houston's whole career is unstained by 
any charge of pecuniary dishonesty or greed, and he 
put aside many temptations to accumulate a fortune 
which were thrust upon him, while at the head of 



INDIAN LIFE 43 

affairs in Texas, and he was also a sincere friend of 
the Lidians. It is fair to assume that his intentions 
in regard to the contract were honest, and that it 
was his purpose to furnish rations of a good quality 
and at a fair price, and not, as so many of the con- 
tractors did, of damaged flour and rotten meat, re- 
couping themselves for their nominally low prices in 
the many ways familiar to the Indian ring. The 
scandal of the rejected contract followed Houston, 
and was exploited in the partisan newspapers to the 
discredit of himself and his assumed patron, Presi- 
dent Jackson. Houston issued a silly and bombastic 
"proclamation," dated Nashville, July 13, 1831, in 
which he promised immunity to all his slanderers, 
and " a gilt coj)y (bound in sheep) of the ' Ken- 
tucky Register,' or a snug, plain copy (bound in dog) 
of the ' United States Telegraph,' " to the most suc- 
cessful. But the attacks did not cease, and finally 
led to an event which gave him renewed, if doubtful, 
notoriety, and evinced his fiery, if calculating, passion. 
In 1832 Houston was again in Washington. On 
March 31, Hon. William Stanberry, Representative in 
Congress from Ohio, in the course of a debate, which 
lasted several days, on charges of misconduct against 
the Collector of Wiscasset, made a general attack upon 
the Administration, in which he said, " Was not the 
late Secretary of War (Eaton) removed because of 
his attempt fraudulently to give to Governor Houston 
the contract for Indian rations ? " Houston took fire 
at the allusion, and sent a note to Stanberry by his 



44 SAM HOUSTON 

friend Cave Johnson of Tennessee, demanding to know 
if Ms name had been used, and if the remarks were 
correctly reported. To this note Stanberry replied to 
Johnson saying that he had received a note from his 
hands, signed Sam Houston, and that he could not 
recognize the right of Houston to any such information. 
Houston was excessively angry at Stanberry's refusal 
to reply to his demand, and particularly at that portion 
which said " a note signed Sam Houston," as though 
he was an miknown or insignificant individual, and 
said : " I will introduce myself to the damned rascal." 
He declared that he would whip Stanberry on sight, 
as he knew he would not accept a challenge. Johnson 
endeavored to persuade Houston to abandon his pur- 
pose, representing to him that an assault for words 
spoken in debate would be a breach of the privileges 
of the House. He then informed Stanberry of Hous- 
ton's threats, and "washed his hands of the affair." 
Stanberry armed himself in anticipation of the as- 
sault, and Houston repossessed himself of a young 
hickory cane, which he had cut in the grounds of the 
Hermitage and given to a friend in Georgetown. 

The encomiter, when it actually took place, was 
apparently in a measure accidental, although both 
parties had been prepared for it. On the evening of 
April 13, Houston had been in the room of Senator 
Felix Grundy of Tennessee, in company with Senator 
Alexander Buckner of Missouri and Representative 
John C. Blair of Tennessee, and left it in company 
with the two latter. After walking up Pennsylvania 



THE STANBERRY AFFAIR 45 

Avenue some distance "in light conversation," Blair 
said they had gone half way with Houston, and that 
to be polite he ought to turn about and go back with 
them. Houston excused himself on the ground that 
he had company. As they stood there a man was seen 
crossing the avenue, and Blair, who had recognized 
him as Stanberry, walked rapidly off. As the man 
stepped on the sidewalk, Houston asked him if his 
name was Stanberry, and, on the reply that it was, 
said, "You are a damned rascal," and struck with his 
stick. The affray lasted for several minutes, Houston 
attempting to throw Stanberry, who dragged him about 
the sidewalk! and finally succeeding in knocking him 
down and beating him severely. As Stanberry lay 
on his back under the blows of Houston, he drew a 
pistol and aimed it at Houston's breast, but it snapped 
without exploding, and Houston wrenched it from his 
hands. Stanberry at length lay motionless, and Buck- 
ner, who had stood by while the beating was being 
administered, said that he was about to interfere, when 
Houston stopped of his own accord, and walked off. 
It does not appear that Houston was armed. 

The next day Stanberry addressed a note to the 
Speaker, saying that he had been waylaid and beaten 
the previous evening with a bludgeon, by Governor 
Houston, for words spoken in debate, and that he was 
confined to his boarding-house in consequence, and 
asking that the information be laid before the House. 
The note was read by the Speaker. A resolution was 
offered for the arrest of Houston by the sergeant-at- 



46 SAM HOUSTON 

arms, which was opposed by Mr. Polk and others o£ 
the Jackson party, who claimed that a committee of in- 
quiry would be sufficient. The resolution^was adopted 
by a vote of 146 to 25. Houston was arrested by the 
sergeant-at-arms, and brought to the bar of the House, 
April 16. He was informed by the Speaker that he 
could have time to procure counsel and witnesses. 
Houston replied that he desired no counsel, but 
twenty-four hours in which to prepare his answer. 
He changed his mind about counsel, however, and ap- 
peared, accompanied by Francis Scott Key. In reply 
to the interrogatory of the Speaker presenting the 
charge, Houston admitted that he did assault and beat 
Stanberry on accidentally meeting him, but denied that 
the assault involved a breach of the privileges of the 
House. The trial lasted for a month, including the 
examination of witnesses and the debates. Houston's 
counsel argued that the assault was not a breach of 
legislative privilege, which could only protect a mem- 
ber when in the actual discharge of his functions. 
Houston made a spirited and passionate speech in 
defense of himself. It was evidently carefully pre- 
pared, and contained many allusions to Draco, Ca- 
ligula, and other classical figures, in the oratorical 
fashion of those days, and a good deal of bombastical 
and theatrical rhetoric. But it was really vigorous 
and eloquent, and, carried off by Houston's splendid 
physique and commanding demeanor, doubtless pro- 
duced a deeply sensational effect. He denied that he 
had lain in wait like an assassin to commit the assault. 



THE STANBERRY AFFAIR 47 

" If," said he, " when deeply wronged, I have followed 
the generous impulses of my heart, have violated the 
laws of my country and the privileges of this honor- 
able body, I am willing to be held to my responsibility 
for so doing." In regard to the charges that he was 
a " man of ruined fortune and blasted reputation," he 
said: "Though the ploughshare of ruin has been 
driven over me, and laid waste my brightest hopes, 
yet I am proud to think that under all circumstances 
I have endeavored to maintain the laws of my country, 
and to support her institutions. Whatever may be 
the opinion of gentlemen in relation to these matters, 
I am here to be tried for a substantive offense, discon- 
nected entirely with my former life or circumstances. 
I have only to say to those who rebuke me at this 
time, when they see adversity sorely pressing upon 
me, for myself, 

'* ' I ask no sympathies, nor need ; 
The thorns which I have reaped are of the tree 
I planted. They have torn me, and I bleed.' " 

He asserted that his attack upon Stanberry was not 
for words spoken in debate, but for their publication 
in the " National Intelligencer," and the refusal to an- 
swer his note demanding an explanation ; and argued 
that a member forfeits the privilege " when he brands 
a private citizen as a fraudulent villain in the face of 
the whole world, and renders himself answerable to 
the party aggrieved." 

A resolution was offered that Samuel Houston be 
discharged from the custody of the sergeant-at-arms, 



48 SAM HOUSTON 

and another that he had been guilty of a breach of 
the privileges of the House. The debate lasted for 
several days, turning mainly upon the cheap quibble of 
whether the assault had been for the words spoken in 
debate or for their publication in the newspaper. The 
friends of the Administration rallied to the defense 
of Houston, who had the outspoken approval of Presi- 
dent Jackson, who said that "after a few more ex- 
amples of the same kind, members of Congress would 
learn to keep civil tongues in their heads ; " but the 
case was too flagrant, and a resolution that Samuel 
Houston be brought to the bar and reprimanded by 
the Speaker was passed by a vote of 106 to 89. An 
addition that he be excluded from the privileges of 
the floor as an ex-Representative was lost by a vote 
of 90 to 101. On Monday, May 18, the day fixed 
for the delivery of the reprimand, Houston presented 
a paper protesting against the sentence as unconstitu- 
tional, if not on the gromid of an " unusual punish- 
ment," yet as inconsistent with our institutions and 
unfit to be inflicted on a free citizen, but concluding 
" that he would suffer in silent patience whatever the 
House may think proper to inflict.^' The Speaker, 
Hon. Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, administered 
the reprimand in a very mild and perfunctory man- 
ner, saying, " Whatever the motives and causes may 
have been which led to this act of violence com- 
mitted by you, your conduct has been pronounced 
by a solemn judgment of the House to be a high 
breach of their rights and privileges, and to demand 



INDIAN LIFE 49 

their marked disapprobation and censure . . . and 
in obedience to the order of the House I reprimand 
you accordingly." 

A committee, of which Mr. Stanberry was a mem- 
ber, was appointed to investigate the affair of the 
contract, and it made a report acquitting Houston 
of any fraudulent intent. A charge of assault and 
battery was brought against Houston in the courts, 
and he was convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of 
1500. This fine was remitted by President Jack- 
son, — ^' divers good and sufficient reasons moving 
me thereto," which were not given, — and this ended 
the affair. 

There is no doubt that Houston's assault on Stan- 
berry, ruffianly and barbarous as it was, increased 
his popularity in the Jackson party, and in the 
frontier communities, who regarded violence as the 
proper way in which to reply to insult. The vote 
in the House showed how far the sentiment of 
nearly a majority of the members was from being 
in disapproval of such an act, although it was an 
attack upon their own privileges of debate. Hous- 
ton, on his return to the Indian Territory through 
Tennessee, received an ovation, and was pressed to 
remain and reenter public life. He never expressed 
any regret for the occurrence, but, on the contrary, 
said, in alluding to it : "I was dying out once, and 
had they taken me before a justice of peace and 
fined me ten dollars for assault and battery it would 
have killed me ; but they gave me a national tribu- 



50 SAM HOUSTON 

nal for a theatre, and that set me up again." This 
remark might lead to the shrewd suspicion that 
there was some calculation as well as anger in Hous- 
ton's attack on Stanberry. 

During Houston's residence in the Indian Territory, 
he fell in love with a Cherokee woman, named Tyania 
Rodgers. She was a half-breed, of great personal 
beauty, and as tall and stately for a woman as Hous- 
ton was for a man. He took up with her in the 
Indian fashion as his wife, and, leaving the abode of 
his friend, John Jolly, he established himself on the 
west bank of Grand River, nearly opposite Fort Gib- 
son. Here he made a small clearing and built a log 
cabin. He established a small trading-post, and com- 
bined this occupation with some slatternly farming 
and stock-raising. At this time Houston had sunk to 
a low depth of degradation in personal habits. His 
tall form was often seen stretched in a state of help- 
less intoxication in the paths about the cantonment 
of Fort Gibson, and the Indians changed his name 
of Co-lon-neh to the more expressive one of " Big 
Drunk." One who was in his employ at the trading 
post has said that Houston's life was marked by fits 
of deep melancholy, which he would relieve by stupe- 
fying indulgence in liquor ; after the effects of the 
debauch had passed he would for a time be his ordi- 
nary cheerful self again. These fits of despondency 
and excesses were the natural consequences of his 
sense of degradation and failure in life, and showed 
the stirrings of his better spirit, too strong and manly 



INDIAN LIFE 61 

to sink absolutely and hopelessly to tlie level of tlie 
border " squaw man." On one occasion Houston and 
his chief assistant quarreled, while under the influ- 
ence of liquor, and the assistant challenged Hous- 
ton. On being remonstrated with for accepting the 
challenge of an employee, Houston said that he had 
always treated him like a gentleman, and he was en- 
titled to a gentleman's satisfaction if he considered 
himself injured. The duel took place, and several 
shots were exchanged, but the seconds had consider- 
ately failed to put any bullets in the pistols, and no 
one was injured. Houston had no children by his 
Indian wife. That he was sincerely attached to her 
was manifested by the fact that he sent for her to 
join him after his removal to Texas ; but she refused 
to leave her people, and died a few years afterward 
in the home which he had made. 

Houston was justly regarded by the Cherokees as 
their sincere and efficient friend. He not only pro- 
cured the removal of swindling agents, while living 
among them, but defended their rights by treaties 
when in power in Texas, and performed many val- 
uable services in their behalf while a Senator of the 
United States. The delegations of the tribe were 
always welcome to his rooms in Washington, and he 
spent what were, doubtless, some of his pleasantest 
evenings, while they were seated around him on the 
floor in council and talk. His memory is still fresh 
among them, and his name is perpetuated as an 
honored patronymic like that of William Penn. 



52 SAM HOUSTON 

But from this scene of unworthy degradation he 
was summoned to take part in a noble and stirring 
drama, and to redeem his name and fame by services 
and achievements beyond even the brilliant promise 
of his early years. 



CHAPTER V 

TEXAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE STRUGGLE FOR 
INDEPENDENCE 

The vast territory of Texas, comprising 268,684 
square miles, was very thinly peopled at the time 
of tlie beginning of the struggle for independence. 
The whole of the northern and the greater portion 
of the central part were still in the condition in 
which they were at the time of the arrival of La 
Salle on the shore of Matagorda Bay in 1685. This 
region was inhabited only by wandering tribes of 
Indians, some of them the native aborigines, Co- 
manches, Wacos, Lipans and their congeners, and 
others fragments of the tribes, Cherokees, Choctaws, 
Delawares and Shawnees, who had been driven 
from their homes in the United States by the 
aggressions of the whites. Among the Indians were 
a few white hunters and trappers, scarcely less wild 
and uncivilized in their habits than the savages, the 
occasional wandering traders, who bartered ammuni- 
tion and trinkets for furs at the risk of their lives, 
and the American and Mexican drovers, who chased 
and gathered in cavayards of the wild mustang ponies 
for the Louisiana and San Antonio markets. But per- 
manent habitations there were none in all this vast 



54 SAM HOUSTON 

region of prairie and forest, and the picket posts of 
civilization in the shape of settlers' cabins had not 
been planted beyond the boundaries of the empresa- 
rio's colonies, and the sheltering timber of the 
principal streams. There were small towns in the 
interior, San Antonio, Nacogdoches, Goliad, and 
others, which dated from the time of the early- 
Spanish colonization, or which had grown around 
the Missions established by the Franciscan friars 
for the conversion and civilization of the Indians ; 
and there were seaports or landing places on the 
coast, Galveston, Brazoria, Yelasco and Copano, which 
were the result of the necessity for sea communica- 
tion for supplies and trade. There were agricultural 
colonies founded under grants of land from the 
Mexican government to empresarios or contractors, 
Austin's, De Witt's, De Leon's, and the Irish col- 
ony of McMullin and McGloire, of various degrees 
of strength and permanence, and others which were 
merely such in name, and were used for fraudulent 
speculation in land scrip, or merely the chimseras 
of over-sanguine projectors. In these colonies, and 
notably in that of Austin, were the germs of the 
Anglo-American occupation of Texas, and its con- 
quest from the nominal domination of the Hispano- 
Mexicans. 

In 1834 Colonel Juan Nepomuceno Almonte made 
a tour of insj)ection through Texas, by direction of 
the Mexican government, to report upon its popula- 
tion, trade, and general condition. Almonte was an 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 55 

officer of intelligence and good judgment. He was, 
according to tradition, the son of the patriot priest 
Moreles, the leader of the Mexican revolt against 
Spain, had been thoroughly educated in the United 
States, and was at that time thirty years of age, 
colonel and aid-de-camp to President Santa Anna. 
His report is the only statistical account of the 
condition of Texas at that period, and, although 
obviously imperfect, affords ground for reasonable 
estimate and conjecture. 

Colonel Almonte estimated the total population of 
Texas at 36,300, of whom 21,000 were whites and 
negroes, and 15,300 Indians. It must be said, of 
course, that this estimate of the Indian population 
was the sheerest guess-work, and it might have been 
put at any merely arbitrary figure. Neither was 
there any means for an accurate census of the civil- 
ized population, and a variation of several thousands, 
either way, was quite possible. Texas at that time 
was divided into three departments, Bexar, Brazos, 
and Nacogdoches. 

There were four municipalities or districts in 
Bexar, the western department, whose population 
was as follows : San Antonio, 2400 ; Goliad, 700 ; 
Victoria, 300 ; San Patricio, the Irish colony, 600. 
The population of Bexar, with the exception of the 
Irish colony, was exclusively Mexican, and it had 
diminished since the last report in 1806 from 6400 
to 3400. There was but one school in the depart- 
ment, at San Antonio, and that was so miserably 



56 SAM HOUSTON 

supported as to be practically of no value. There 
was but one priest in the whole region. The condi- 
tion of the population of Bexar v/as evidently but 
little above barbarism, the people living by rude 
agriculture and their flocks and herds, and being 
less civilized and prosperous than under the Spanish 
dominion in the early part of the century. The 
whole export trade consisted of from 8000 to 10,000 
skins and furs, and the imports were only a few sup- 
plies from New Orleans, exchanged for peltry at San 
Antonio. 

The population of Brazos, the central department, 
which included the prosperous colony of Austin, was 
estimated at 8000, of whom 1000 were negroes, nom- 
inally only servants under the Mexican laws, but in 
reality slaves. The municipalities were San Felipe 
de Austin, the capital of the colony, with a popular 
tion of 2500; Columbia, 2100; Matagorda, 1400; 
Gonzales, 900 ; Mina, 1100. The exports consisted 
of a yearly average of 5000 bales of cotton, returning, 
at New Orleans, 1225,000 ; 50,000 skins, valued at 
$50,000 ; and a large quantity of beeves and other 
livestock driven to the market at Natchitoches, Lou- 
isiana, of which no estimate was given. The maize 
and other cereals were all consumed at home. The 
colonists owned large herds of cattle and droves of 
hogs, which fed wild on the prairie. There was but one 
school in the department, at Brazoria, with about forty 
pupils. The wealthier colonists sent their children 
to the United States to be educated, and " those, who 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 57 

have riot tKe advantages of fortune, care little for 
the education of their sons, provided they can wield 
the axe and cut down a tree, or kill a deer with dex- 
terity." 

The total population of Nacogdoches, the eastern 
department, was estimated at 9900. It had four 
mimicipalities, with the population as follows : Nachi- 
doches, 3500; San Augustine, 2500; Liberty, 1000; 
Johnsbury, 1000. The town of Anahuac had a pop- 
ulation of 50 ; Bevil, 140 ; Tanaha, 100 ; Teran, 10. 
In this department were about 1000 negroes, brought 
by their masters from the United States. Coloniza- 
tion in Nacogdoches had not been prosperous, owing 
to the fact that the empresarios, Burnett, Zavala, and 
Vchlein, had sold their contracts to speculators in 
New York and elsewhere, who made no attempt at the 
settlement of immigrants, but simply disposed of the 
land scrip to whomever they could persuade to buy 
by means of flaming circulars and illusory promises. 
There was a constant conflict of titles between the 
immigrants and the original settlers or squatters, and 
the consequences were very injurious to the growth 
and prosperity of the colony. The trade of Nacog- 
doches was estimated at ^470,000. The exports 
consisted of 2000 bales of cotton, 40,000 skins, and 
50,000 head of cattle. The imports were estimated 
at $265,000. 

The total trade of Texas for the year 1834, exports 
and imports, was estimated at $1,400,000, which in- 
cluded a contraband trade through the ports of Bra- 



58 SAM HOUSTON 

zoria, Matagorda and Copano, conjectured to Amount 
to 1270,000. Says the report : " Money is very scarce 
in Texas, not one in ten sales being made for cash. 
Purchases are made on credit or by barter, which gives 
the country the appearance of a continued fair." 
Almonte declared Texas to be "the bravest of our 
provinces," and urged retired army officers to capitaHze 
their pay and go and colonize the country. "There 
they will find peace and industry, and that rest for 
their old age, which, in all probability, they will not 
find in the centre of the republic," — a remark which 
indicated that .Almonte had not formed a very ac- 
curate estimate of the prospects of an attempt to 
Mexicanize Texas by colonization, however sound his 
judgment of the prospects of tranquillity in the mother 
country. 

The real root and foundation of the prosperity and 
growth of Texas was in the colony of Stephen F. 
Austin on the Brazos. 

The Mexican settlements in Bexar had none of the 
elements of progress and civilization, and had rather 
degenerated than advanced in the past half century. 
It simply contributed an outlying and rural province 
of Mexico, without the mineral riches and agricultural 
development which had given wealth and a certain 
amount of civilization to the central provinces. 

The American settlements in Nacogdoches, al- 
though of older date than Austin's colony, had been 
seriously injured by the fact that the " neutral 
ground," which had existed beyond the Sabine be- 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 59 

tween the boimdaries of the United States and Mex- 
ico, had been the Alsatia of the criminal refugees of 
both countries, and the favorite retreat of the des- 
peradoes of the Southwest. Once beyond the muddy- 
waters of the Sabine, criminals were safe from all 
molestation, except at the hands of their fellows, and 
for many years they had dominated the country, mak- 
ing life and property unsafe for the travelers and 
settlers. Here were gathered the murderers and man- 
slayers who had escaped from the hands of justice 
in the States, the bandits and robbers, banished mem- 
bers of gangs like that of the famous John A. Mur- 
rell which had exercised a reign of terror in Missis- 
sippi, fraudulent debtors who had chalked on their 
shutters the cabalistic letters " G. T. T." — Gone to 
Texas, — and the ruffians and desperadoes of every 
description who lived in an atmosphere of violence, 
and to whom all law was a mockery. These asso- 
ciates were equally lawless, if not equally criminal, 
and it was a society in which every one " fought for 
his own hand." 

One of the notable and characteristic figures of this 
community was Colonel Martin Parmer, known as 
" The Ring Tailed Panther." Parmer had lived in 
Missouri in the Indian wilderness, among the O sages 
and lowas, and his feats of savage daring and eccen- 
tricity were the gossip of the border. On one occasion 
he was said to have stood with a drawn knife over a 
savage named " Two Heart," who had devoured the 
heart of a white man he had killed, and compelled 



60 SAM HOUSTON 

him to eat until lie died of repletion. He sent 
fifty miles for a minister to preach a sermon over the 
body of a favorite bear dog. With all tliis he was 
a man of ability, had been a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention of Missouri, and an efficient Indian 
agent. 

The outlaws of the neutral gromid organized them- 
selves into bands, and fought over land titles and for 
political domination, and in 1826 commenced a war 
against the Mexican authorities under the leadership 
of Hayden Edwards, an empresario, whose contract 
had been annulled on accomit of the conflicts which 
had arisen between the claims of his colonists and the 
original Mexican inhabitants and squatters. This 
emeute, called " The Fredonian War," was easily sup- 
pressed, Austin and his colonists taking part with the 
Mexican authorities. 

These troubles, the presence of a large body of Cher- 
okee Indians, who had settled in the country under a 
concession of the Mexican government, and the diffi- 
culties arising from the sale of fraudulent and conflict- 
ing land titles, had been a serious drawback to the 
permanent and prosperous settlement of eastern Texas, 
which would naturally have been the first in growth, 
owing to its neighborhood to the United States. At 
this time it had recovered from the worst of its law- 
lessness, and was securing a better class of emigrants ; 
but it was yet not attractive to the orderly and pro- 
gressive colonists, such as had gathered under the 
government and direction of Austin. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 61 

Stephen F. Austin, who justly deserves the title 
given him by Houston, of '' The Father of Texas," was 
born in Austin ville, Virginia, in 1793. His father, 
Moses Austin, was a native of Durham, Connecticut, 
and had spent an enterprising and adventurous life in 
developing lead mines in Virginia and the Missouri 
Territory. His operations in the latter region proving 
financially improfitable, he turned his attention toward 
Texas, of whose beauty and fertility he had heard 
much from explorers and Spanish traders. In 1820 
he set out for Texas. He was at first coldly received 
by Governor Martinez of San Antonio, but by the aid 
of the Baron de Bastrop, a Prussian officer, who had 
served imder Frederick the Great, and was then in the 
service of Mexico, he obtained a favorable hearing on 
his proposition to settle a colony of emigrants from 
the United States in Texas. Austin's petition was 
forwarded to the central government, and he returned 
home. On the route he was robbed and stripped by 
his fellow-travelers, and, after great exposure and 
privation, subsisting for twelve days on acorns and 
pecan nuts, he reached the cabin of a settler near 
the Sabine River. He reached home in safety, and 
commenced his preparations for removal to Texas; 
but his exposure and privations had weakened his 
vital forces, and he died from the effects of a cold 
in his fifty-seventh year, leaving his dying injunction 
to his son, Stephen, to carry out his project. 

The response from Mexico was favorable. A con- 
cession was made for the settlement of three hundred 



62 SAM HOUSTON 

families on tlie condition of their professing the 
Roman Catholic religion and promising fidelity to the 
Spanish government. The grants included 640 acres 
of land for each head of a family or single man, 320 
acres for the wife, 160 acres for each child, and 
eighty acres for each slave. The premium to the 
empresario was &vq square leagues of grazing land 
and five labores (a labore consisting of 177 acres) 
for each one hundred families settled, the total num- 
ber not to exceed 800. Austin visited the country 
for the purpose of exploration, and selected the coun- 
try between the Brazos and the Colorado, then an 
uninhabited wilderness, as the site of his colony. 

He returned to Louisiana, and advertised for 
emigrants. The terms and the adventure were at- 
tractive, and he set out with a considerable number 
of followers by land, having previously dispatched 
the schooner Lively to Matagorda Bay with supplies 
and agricultural implements. The schooner was 
lost, and the colony had to begin their settlement 
with only the means which they had brought with 
them. 

In the mean time the revolution against Spain had 
been accomplished in Mexico. Austin was obliged 
to make the long and perilous journey of 1200 miles 
to the city of Mexico, which he accomplished on foot 
and in the disguise of a common soldier, in order 
to obtain a renewal of his grant. He obtained a 
renewal from the Emperor Iturbide, and was about to 
return home, when the revolution, headed by Santa 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 63 

Anna, drove Iturbide from the throne, and he was 
compelled to make another application to the Mexican 
Cortes. In this he was also successful, and, in 1823, 
after a year's absence, returned to his colony, which 
had been nearly destroyed by the prolonged uncer- 
tainty and discouragement. 

Austin renewed his efforts, and the settlers began 
again to come in. There were the usual difficulties 
and trials connected with a pioneer settlement. A 
vessel with supplies was cast away, and another, hav- 
ing rmi aground, was plundered, and the crew massa- 
cred by the Carankawa Indians, a ferocious tribe of 
the coast. The settlers had to import their seed-corn 
from beyond the Sabine, or to buy it at San Antonio, 
where it was scarce and dear. They were obliged to 
live mainly on wild game, and, the deer and bears 
being scarce, on accomit of the drought and failure of 
the mart, they were reduced to killing the wild horses 
for food. The women as well as the men were clad 
in buckskin garments, and the advent of a stray pack- 
peddler, with a few yards of flowered calico at fifty 
cents per yard, was like the arrival of a ship with 
a cargo of silks in an eastern port. The men were 
engaged in building cabins and making clearings, 
hewing down the trees and cutting the cane brakes. 
In the blackened fields, after the burning of the 
brush, they planted corn in holes made with sharp- 
ened sticks. While at work they kept guard against 
the Indians, who roved about stealing the stock, at 
times making a night attack upon a cabin, or mur- 



64 SAM HOUSTON 

dering and scalping some solitary herdsman or trav- 
eler. The Mexicans did nothing to protect or govern 
the colony. The settlers, with the Anglo-Saxon in- 
stinct for law and order, created a code of laws for 
the administration of justice and the settlement of 
civil disputes. The land titles were duly recorded, 
and a local militia was organized. Austin was the 
supreme authority, the judge and commandant, and 
ruled the colony with fatherly kindness and practical 
sagacity, like a tribal patriarch. 

The characters of the settlers of Austin's colony 
were of a much higher type than those of the des- 
perate and criminal refugees in the eastern section. 
They were sturdy and honest, the best representatives 
of the hardy adventurers who have led the van of 
civilization in its march across the American conti- 
nent, and founded stable, orderly, and prosperous 
communities. They were wild and adventurous in 
spirit, with an irresistible longing for the life of the 
wilderness, for the excitement of danger, and the 
delight of vigorous achievement. To them the free 
air of the prairie and the breath of the forest were like 
the salt scent of the sea-breeze to the ancient viking. 
Their blood was warm and flamed rapidly into com- 
bat ; but they were kindly, hospitable, honest, and 
above all things manly. There was no place among 
them for the cowardly vices of an artificial society. 
There is a universal testimony as to their honesty 
and hospitality. Even a prejudiced observer, like 
Charles Hooten, an English author of some tempo- 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 65 

rary note, who wrote a vituperative book about Texas 
in 1840, testifies that it was the common custom 
to leave the doors unfastened when the house was 
empty, and that seldom or never was anything dis- 
turbed. So late as after the close of the Mexican 
war. Major Hutter, the United States paymaster, 
detailed to settle the claims of the Texas soldiers, 
traveled through the country with haK a million 
dollars in gold in his ambulance, without an es- 
cort, and met with no interruption or molestation. 
The fact of his journey was well known, and the 
places where he would pay the claimants were an- 
nounced in the newspapers, so that robbers could 
have had every opportunity to waylay him, while 
there were often places on his route where the houses 
were from fifteen to twenty miles apart. No man 
took another's note for a loan, the verbal promise 
of pajmient being considered sufficient, and all the 
transactions of business were conducted on a fully 
warranted trust in the general integrity. Even those 
who had left the States on accomit of pecuniary fail- 
ure or dishonesty came under the influence of the 
standard of honesty about them, and in some instances 
remitted the sums due to their distant creditors. 
This was the case with Captain Moseley Baker, one 
of the heroes of San Jacinto, who had fled from the 
United States on account of a forgery, and who 
afterward sent back the amount to the individuals 
who had lost by it. There were some thefts and 
depredations upon the colony by wandering rascals 



66 SAM HOUSTON 

and brigands, but they were dealt witb very sternly 
and summarily. The marauders, when caught, were 
at first tied and whipped, but, this not proving effec- 
tual, recourse was had to Austin for advice. He said 
that as there were no courts of justice or jails in the 
colony, they had better follow the marauders, recover 
the property, but not bring back any of the thieves. 
The hint was taken. The next time there was a 
theft the robbers were followed, shot, and the head 
of one of them cut off and stuck on a pole by the 
roadside as a significant warning. The justice of 
Judge Lynch was served out for those crimes which 
affected the safety of the property, or outraged the 
sense of propriety in the coromunity, while those 
which were merely the results of personal quarrel, 
were left to the arbitrament of the encounter. 

As for hospitality, it was more than an obligation, 
it was an impulse. The saying, "The latchstring 
hangs out," was more than a proverb, it was a fact of 
common life. The traveler who rode up to the front 
fence was instantly invited to alight. His horse was 
staked out or hoppled to feed on the prairie grass, and 
the visitor sat down to exchange the news with his 
host. The coffee-mill was set going, if there were any 
of the precious grains in the house, and the hopper in 
the hollowed log to grinding the corn. The venison 
or bear meat was put on the coals, and the ash-cake 
baked. After the meal and the evening pipe, the 
visitor stretched himself on a buffalo robe on the floor 
with the members of the family, and slept the sleep of 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 67 

health and fatigue. In the morning the response to 
any inquiry as to the charge was, " You can pay me by 
coming again." The story that a certain hospitable 
settler used to waylay travelers on the road, and com- 
pel them to visit him at the muzzle of a double-bar- 
reled shot-gun, was only a humorous exaggeration of 
the instinct for hospitality which characterized the 
community. The visitor was a living newspaper, who 
brought the only news obtainable, and was a welcome 
relief to the monotony and loneliness of the wilder- 
ness. When times had changed and the new comers 
showed themselves more churlish, an old traveler in 
Texas said that he used to find his quarters for the 
night by inquiring of the man of the house, " How 
long have you been in this country ? " If the answer 
was a considerable number of years, or that he " dis- 
remembered " just how long it was, the traveler used 
to alight sure of a hearty welcome. 

These men, who were the early settlers of Texas, 
had in many instances traveled more than a thousand 
miles in ox-teams, from Missouri or beyond the Mis- 
sissippi Eiver, amid all the perils and hardships of the 
wilderness, crossing great tracts of prairie and forest, 
without a road or trail to mark the way, rafting their 
teams over swollen streams and surmounting all nat- 
ural obstacles. They had sometimes been two or 
three years on the way, halting for a season to raise a 
crop of corn, and moving on when it was harvested. 
Children were born in the camps, and the dead were 
buried by the roadside, with no memorial but a pile of 



68 SAM HOUSTON 

rocks to preserve the body from being dug up by the 
wild beasts. The ready rifle supplied game at every 
halting-place, and insured safety from the wandering 
savages. Cold and heat made no impression on their 
hardened frames, and the accidents to flesh and limb 
were treated with a rough and handy surgery. There 
were some that perished. The blood-stained ashes of 
the camp-fire and the plundered wagon showed where 
the wanderers had been swooped upon by an over- 
powering band of savages, and the various perils of 
flood and field counted their victims. But the survi- 
vors were of the strongest type of manhood, hardened, 
by every trial and peril, to the perfection of courage, 
helpfulness and endurance, the fit kings of the wil- 
derness and founders of great States. 

The fascination of the life was irresistible to those 
under its sway, and took possession of the ministers 
and missionaries as well as the rough frontiersmen. 
They fought the Indians, herded stock, and cultivated 
the ground, when not preaching at neighborhood gath- 
erings in the cabins or building their own churches of 
logs or stone, and the inspired zeal with which they 
pursued their sacred calling was stimulated by the 
passion for the wild and free life of danger and adven- 
ture, and the intoxicating breath of the wilderness. 
Men like the Rev. Z. N. Morrell, the Baptist "cane- 
brake preacher," and the Abbe Domenech, the Catho- 
lic missionary, have testified to this in their written 
volmnes of reminiscences, and it was well-nigh univer- 
sal with their class. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS 69 

These pioneers wanted elbow-room and untainted air, 
and, like Daniel Boone, were uneasy wlien the smoke 
of a neighbor's chimney could be seen from their own 
cabin door. No age could tame their spirit of adven- 
ture, and the route of their pioneering sometimes ex- 
tended half across the continent. There is a story 
of a Tennessee planter, who removed from his native 
State to the Red River, from the Red River to Nacop*- 
doches, from Nacogdoches to the Brazos, and from tne 
Brazos to the Colorado. When seen at his last loca- 
tion by a friend he complained of being crowded, and 
said that he must move again. The settlements on the 
Colorado were then many miles apart, and the settler 
was in his eighty-fifth year. 

Austin's colony continued to increase, and for a 
number of years was left undisturbed by the Mexican 
government, which was going through all the turmoils 
of the repeated revolutions which followed the over- 
throw of the Spanish domination. The ordinance re- 
quiring the colonists to profess the Catholic Apostolic 
religion remained a dead letter. No priests were sent 
into the country, and marriages were performed by the 
persons joining hands before the alcalde, and agreeing 
to live together as man and wife. Slaves were intro- 
duced under a special clause in Austin's contract, al- 
though slavery was not recognized by the Mexican 
laws. The colonists were exempt from taxation for^ 
term of six years, and they had only to subdue the 
wilderness and fight the marauding Indians. 

But this state of things could not last. It was in- 



70 SAM HOUSTON 

evitable that the progress of the American colony 
should arouse the jealousy of the Mexicans, and that 
the conflict of the antagonistic races for supremacy 
should begin. By the constitution of 1824, which made 
Mexico a republic, the territory of Texas was imited 
with the province of Coahuila, under the title of " The 
State of Coahuila and Texas," and the capital estab- 
lished at Saltillo, five hundred miles from the Texan 
colony. The two provinces had nothing in common, 
the one being inhabited by a Mexican and the other 
by an American population. The government of the 
State was entirely in the hands of the Mexicans, 
the Texan representatives in the provincial assembly 
being limited to two. This created great dissatis- 
faction among the Texans, and the signs of a growing 
spirit of interference on the part of the Mexican 
government caused a feeling of uneasiness and resent- 
ment. The jealousy of the Mexican government in 
regard to the American occupation of Texas was still 
farther aroused by the proposition on the part of the 
United States for the purchase of the territory, which 
was made by the Administration of President Adams, 
and renewed by that of President Jackson. 

In 1830, Anastasio Bustamente, the Vice-President 
of Mexico, organized a revolution and drove the 
President Guerrero from power. Bustamente was a 
sanguinary tyrant, and represented the centralist and 
anti-liberal party. He issued decrees, prohibiting 
farther immigration from the United States, forbidding 
the introduction of any more slaves, and establishing 



EARLY TROUBLES 71 

custom-houses at San Antonio, Nacogdoches, Copano, 
Velasco and Brazoria for the collection of imposts 
upon the trade. He also began preparations by 
making Texas a penal colony, by sending a thousand 
soldiers, mostly criminals and convicts, to stations 
in the country. 

Bustamente's military commandants soon made 
themselves obnoxious by their tyranny and imposi- 
tions. One Colonel John Davis Bradburn, a rene- 
gade Virginian, in command of the port of Anahuac 
at the head of Galveston Bay, proclaimed martial 
law, released slaves, arrested citizens, and exercised 
the annoying authority of a petty tyrant. At length 
all the ports were closed except that at Anahuac, 
which was very inconvenient for the settlers, as it was 
outside the limits of Austin's colony, and inaccessible 
to vessels drawing over six feet of water. An indig- 
nation meeting was held at Brazoria, and a commit- 
tee of citizens appointed to procure a revocation of 
the order from Bradburn. This, after some equivo- 
cation and delay, was granted under the threat of 
armed resistance. Bradburn next sent a file of sol- 
diers to arrest a number of citizens prominent in the 
insurrectionary movement. Among them was Wil- 
liam B. Travis, the future hero of the Alamo, and 
Monroe Edwards, an extraordinary individual, who 
had been engaged in smuggling slaves landed from 
Africa on the Texas coast into Louisiana. He after- 
ward figured as an abolitionist advocate in England, 
and, after a notorious and successful criminal career 



72 SAM HOUSTON 

in Europe and the United States, was convicted of 
forgery and sentenced to Sing Sing prison, where he 
died in 1847. The citizens were aroused to resist the 
arrest, and a force was gathered for the purpose of 
attacking the fort at Anahuac. At this juncture the 
news arrived that Santa Anna had organized a revolt 
against Bustamente, and that another revolution was 
in progress in Mexico. Colonel Bradburn was de- 
prived of his conunand by Colonel Piedras, the com- 
mandant of Nacogdoches, and retired to the United 
States. 

On July 25 an attack was made on the fort at 
Velasco by a force of one hundred and twenty-five 
Texans under the command of Colonel John Austin. 
A small cannon was placed on a schooner and directed 
against the fort, and the Texan riflemen, behind a 
palisade of planks which had been erected during 
the night, picked off every Mexican soldier who 
showed himseK above the walls. Colonel Ugartchea, 
who commanded the fort, signalized himself by an 
act of reckless bravery in standing at his full height 
upon the walls under fire. This so moved the admi- 
ration of the Texans that they did not shoot him. 
The fort was surrendered after a loss of thirty -five 
men on the part of the Mexicans, and eight on the 
part of the Texans. In a short time afterward. 
Colonel Mexia, an emissary of Santa Anna, arrived 
with four vessels at the mouth of the Brazos, having 
with him Stephen F. Austin, the Texan member 
of the Mexican Congress. Mexia 's purpose was to 



STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE 73 

obtain tlie adhesion of Texas to the revolutionary 
movement of Santa Anna, and, after a meeting at 
San Felipe, it was decided that the troops should be 
withdrawn from the country. Colonel Piedras, the 
commandant at Nacogdoches, refused to give his 
adhesion to the party of Santa Anna, and, after a 
sharp skirmish in the town, was pursued to the 
banks of the Angelina River, where he gave up his 
command, the troops declaring in favor of Santa 
Anna. The garrison at San Antonio also joined the 
revolutionary party, and the troops all took their 
departure for Mexico to join in the warfare against 
Bustamente. The inhabitants of Texas gave their 
approval and adhesion to Santa Anna, who had 
announced himself in favor of the restoration of the 
Liberal Constitution of 1824, and there was a belief 
that, with his success, the troubles would be ended, 
and that Texas would enjoy peace and the privileges 
of self-government as one of the States of the Repub- 
lic of Mexico. 



CHAPTER VI 

Houston's akrival in texas — the outbreak of 

THE WAR 

It is not probable that Houston's determination 
to go to Texas was the result of any sudden purpose. 
The future of that vast domain and the desire to 
acquire it from the Mexicans had undoubtedly had a 
place in his mind, as it had in those of other restless 
and ambitious spirits in the United States and in the 
schemes of the Federal Government. The story told 
by a Dr. Eobert Mayo, of Washington, in 1830, and 
by him communicated to President Jackson, that 
Houston had confided to him a scheme for the organi- 
zation of an expedition to wrest Texas from the feeble 
hands of Mexico, and that recruiting offices had been 
established in the eastern cities, under the direction 
of one Hunter, a discharged cadet from West Point, 
must be regarded as an invention. Jackson satisfied 
himself by inquiry that no such scheme was on foot. 
Recruiting offices could not have been opened in the 
eastern cities without the knowledge of the authori- 
ties, and the story evidently grew out of that element 
of mystery and conjecture, which accompanied Hous- 
ton's sensational disappearance into the wilderness. 
At the same time some indefinite idea of an ambitious 



HOUSTON'S ARRIVAL IN TEXAS 75 

future in connection with Texas must have crossed 
his mind in the intervals in which his better spirit 
stirred to lift him out of the degradation of Indian 
savagery. According to the Rev. Z. N. Morrell he 
had expressed a purpose to one Deacon Mcintosh, 
of Nashville, to establish "a two-horse republic" in 
Texas, and to be its first president, as early as in 
1830. There are letters which show that such a 
scheme was not only in his own mind, but in those of 
his friends, during his Indian exile. 

It was in the nature of things that the settlement 
of Texas by colonists from the United States should 
create the belief that the country would come into 
their possession as an independent community, if not 
as a part of the Union, and restless and enterprising 
adventurers had been attracted there by more ambi- 
tious schemes than those of the agricultural colonists. 
Among those already in Texas were men of ability 
and energy, who were afterward distinguished in its 
military and political history. There was David G. 
Burnet of New Jersey, afterward the provisional presi- 
dent of the Republic, who had been a subordinate 
officer in Con Francisco de Miranda's unfortunate 
expedition for the capture of Venezuela in 1806, and 
who was at that time the nominal empresario of a 
grant of land in northeastern Texas; Dr. Branch T. 
Archer, of Virginia, the president of the revolutionary 
consultation of Texas citizens, who had intended to 
join Burr's expedition for the founding of an empire 
in the Southwest, and had fled to Texas after killing 



76 SAM HOUSTON 

his antagonist in a duel; Thomas J. Chambers, the 
first chief justice of the State of Coahuila and Texas, 
who had made a study of Spanish laws and customs, 
and was already a man of influence in Mexican 
affairs; the brothers James and Rezin P. Bowie, of 
Louisiana, forceful and vigorous adventurers, who 
had been engaged in smuggling African slaves from 
the coast into the United States; Henry Smith, of 
Kentucky, the first provisional governor and Secre- 
tary of the Treasury under Houston; Thomas J. 
Rusk, of South Carolina, a youthful protege of John 
C. Calhoun, afterward Secretary of War, commander 
of the Texan army. Chief Justice and Senator of the 
United States, a man of sound judgment, great force 
of character, and commanding ability; the brothers 
William H. and John A. Wharton, of Virginia, the 
first. President of the Convention which declared 
the provisional independence of Texas, and the sec- 
ond, a brilliant soldier at San Jacinto and Secretary 
of the Navy. These and many others were of a high 
order of ability, and ready to take the lead in devel- 
oping the political as well as the material interests of 
the colony, and in organizing resistance against the 
aggressions of the Mexican government. In most 
instances it is probable they had from the first a pur- 
pose to bring about the independence of the country. 
The expectation that there would be a struggle with 
Mexico existed at an early day among the colonists, 
and at a meeting at Nacogdoches in 1832 it was pro- 
posed to invite General Sam Houston or General 



HOUSTON'S ARRIVAL IN TEXAS 11 

William Carroll, of Tennessee, to settle among them, 
and take the lead in any revolutionary movement. 

Houston went to Texas with a commission from 
President Jackson to arrange treaties with the Co- 
manches and other wild tribes for the protection of 
the American traders and settlers on the border, and 
also to endeavor to persuade those Indians who had 
left the United States and settled in Texas to return. 
There was, in all probability, also a secret under- 
standing that he was to examine into the condition of 
the country as to the power of the people to throw o& 
the Mexican authority, and as to the feeling of the 
American colonists in regard to annexation to the 
United States. He was furnished with a passport 
from the War Department, recommending him to the 
friendship and good will of all the Indian tribes 
whose territories he should visit. He also had some 
private business as an agent of land claimants. 

There are various stories told of the incidents of 
Houston's departure from the Indian Territory and 
journey to Texas. One, told by Major Elias Kector, 
known in the Southwest as "The Fine Arkansas Gen- 
tleman," is that Houston, a Major Arnold Harris, 
and himself traveled together through southeastern 
Arkansas. Houston was mounted on a little Indian 
pony very disproportionate to his stature. The con- 
stant subject of Houston's conversation was the igno- 
ble appearance he would make on such an animal, 
and he earnestly appealed to Harris to exchange his 
fine large horse for it. Said he, — 



78 SAM HOUSTON 

"This d d bob-tailed pony is a disgrace. He 

is continually fighting the flies, and has no means 
of protecting himself, and his kicks and contortions 
render his rider ridiculous. I shall be the laughter 
of all Mexico. I require a steed with his natural 
weapon, a flowing tail, that he may defend himself 
against his enemies as his master has done. Harris, 
you must trade." 

The terms of the exchange were finally made, and 
Houston recovered his dignity and good humor as 
the possessor of the broom-tailed mare. When they 
came to part, Rector took a razor from his saddle- 
bags and presented it to Houston. Houston said, — 

"Major Rector, this is apparently a gift of little 
value, but it is an inestimable testimony of the friend- 
ship which has lasted many years, and proved stead- 
fast under the blasts of calumny and injustice. 
Good-by. God bless you. When next you see this 
razor it shall be shaving the President of a Republic, 
byG— d!" 

Houston left the Indian Territory and crossed the 
Red River on the 10th of December, 1832. He 
went first to Nacogdoches, and from there to San 
Felipe, where he failed to meet Austin, who was ab- 
sent. He journeyed from San Felipe to San Antonio 
in company with Colonel James Bowie, then a promi- 
nent figure in Texas affairs, and was by him intro- 
duced to Yeramendi, the Yice-Governor of the State, 
Bowie's father-in-law, and to Ruiz, the Mexican 
commandant. Houston was cordially received by the 



HOUSTON'S ARRIVAL IN TEXAS 79 

Mexican authorities, and by their consent held a 
council with the Comanche chiefs, distributed medals 
among them, and made arrangements to have them 
send a delegation to Fort Gibson to meet commission- 
ers from the United States. This arrangement was 
not carried out by the Indians, owing to the jealousy 
of the Mexican officials, who apprehended the results 
of American influence on the tribes in their territory. 
Houston returned by way of San Felipe, where he 
met Austin. At Nacogdoches he was invited by the 
citizens to take up his residence among them, and 
promised to do so. He proceeded to Natchitoches, 
Louisiana, from whence he sent a report of his coun- 
cil with the Comanches to the War Department, and 
addressed the following letter to President Jackson, 
in which can be read the answer in regard to his 
secret mission to Texas : — 

Natchitoches, La., February 13, 1833. 
Genekal Jackson: 

Dear Sir, — Having been as far as Bexar, in the 
province of Texas, where I had an interview with the 
Comanche Indians, I am in possession of some infor- 
mation, which will doubtless be interesting to you, 
and may be calculated to forward your views, if you 
should entertain any, touching the acquisition of 
Texas by the United States government. That such 
a measure is desired by nineteen twentieths of the 
population of the province, I cannot doubt. They 
are now without laws to govern or protect them. 



80 SAM HOUSTON 

Mexico is involved in civil war. The Federal Con- 
stitution has never been in operation. The Govern- 
ment is essentially despotic, and must be so for years 
to come. The rulers have not honesty, and the people 
have not intelligence. The people of Texas are deter- 
mined to form a state government, and separate from 
Coahuila, and unless Mexico is soon restored to or- 
der, and the Constitution revived and reenacted, the 
province of Texas will remain separate from the Con- 
federacy of Mexico. She has already beaten and 
repelled all the troops of Mexico from her soil, nor 
will she permit them to return. Her want of money, 
taken in connection with the course which Texas must 
and loill adopts will render the transfer of Texas to 
some power inevitable, and, if the United States does 
not press for it, England will most assuredly obtain 
it by some means. Now is a very important crisis 
for Texas. As relates to her future prosperity and 
safety, as well as to the relations which it is to bear 
to the United States, it is now in the most favorable 
attitude, perhaps, which it can be, to obtain it on 
fair terms. England is pressing her suit for it, but 
its citizens will resist, if any transfer is made of them 
to any power but the United States. I have traveled 
nearly five hundred miles across Texas, and am now 
enabled to judge pretty correctly of the soil and re- 
sources of the country, and I have no hesitancy in pro- 
nouncing it the finest country, for its extent, upon 
the globe ; for the greater portion of it is richer and 
more healthy than West Tennessee. There can be 



HOUSTON'S ARRIVAL IN TEXAS 81 

no doubt that the country, east of the River Grand of 
the North, would sustain a population of ten millions 
of souls. My oj)inion is that Texas, by her members 
in Convention, will, by the 1st of April, declare all 
that country as Texas proper, and form a State Con- 
stitution. I expect to be present at the Convention, 
and will apprise you of the course adopted, as soon 
as the members have taken a final action. It is prob- 
able that I may make Texas my abiding-place. In 
adopting this course / ivill never forget the country 
of my birth. I will notify from this point the Com- 
missioners of the Indians at Fort Gibson of my suc- 
cess, which will reach you through the War Depart- 
ment. I have, with much pride and inexpressible 
satisfaction, seen your proclamation, touching the 
nuUifiers of the South and their "peaceful remedies." 
God grant that you may save the Union! It does 
seem to me that it is reserved for you, and you alone, 
to render to millions so great a blessing. I hear all 
voices commend your course, even in Texas, where 
is felt the greatest interest for the preservation of 
the Republic. Permit me to tender you my sincere 
thanks, felicitations, and most earnest solicitation for 
your health and happiness, and your future glory, 
connected with the prosperity of the Union. 
Your friend, and obedient servant, 

Sam Houston. 

Houston returned to Nacogdoches, and was un- 
doubtedly busy in consultation with the men who 



82 SAM HOUSTON 

were scheming for the acquisition of Texas from 
Mexico. One G. W. Featherstonehaugh, an English 
traveler, came across him in the little village of 
Washington at this time. Says he, in his book, "A 
Journey through the Slave States : " — 

"I was not desirous of remaining long at this 
place. General Houston was here, leading a myste- 
rious sort of a life, shut up in a small tavern, seeing 
nobody by day, and sitting up all night. The world 
gave him credit for passing his waking hours in the 
study of trente et qiiarante and sept a lever, but I 
had been in communication with too many persons of 
late, and had seen too much passing before my eyes 
to be ignorant that the little place was the rendez- 
vous where a much deeper game than faro or rouge 
et noir was being played. There were many per- 
sons at the time in the village from the States lying 
adjacent to the Mississippi, under the pretense of 
purchasing government lands, but whose real object 
was to encourage the settlers in Texas to throw off 
their allegiance to the Mexican government." 

The war between Santa Anna and Bustamente was 
terminated by a compromise in which both generals 
united to place President Pedraza, who had been 
elected in 1828 and deposed, in nominal power. 
Santa Anna retired to his princely estate. Manga del 
Clavo, near Vera Cruz, as was his custom, to await 
the disturbances under a weak government which 
would again enable him to appear as the savior of 
the state. Bustamente, having disbanded his troops, 



HOUSTON'S ARRIVAL IN TEXAS 83 

was banished at the instigation of Santa Anna. 
Pedraza's term having expired, Santa Anna was 
elected President of the Republic without opposition 
at the election on the 29th of March, 1833, and took 
his seat on the 16th of May following. In his in- 
augural address he declared himself in favor of the 
Liberal Constitution of 1824, and promised that his 
administration, "like his own character," should be 
mild and tolerant. 

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was one of the most 
remarkable figures who have appeared in the history 
of this continent, and the vicissitudes of his prolonged 
career included every variety of fortune and adven- 
ture. His head was constantly appearing above the 
troubled waters of Mexican politics, and the civil 
wars which were synonymous with them, from the 
expulsion of the Spaniards in 1821 to the downfall 
of Maximilian's empire in 1866. He was born in 
Jalapa, February 21, 1795, and entered the army at 
an early age. He was a lieutenant-colonel in the 
Spanish service when he joined with Iturbide in the 
revolution, and was made a brigadier-general and 
commandant of Vera Cruz. In 1822 he organized 
the revolt which overthrew Iturbide, and in 1828 de- 
posed Pedraza and put Guerrero in his place. lii 
1829 he defeated and captured a division of Spanish 
troops under General Barradas, who had landed at 
Tampico for the purpose of repossessing the country. 
In 1832 he outmanoeuvred Bustamente, who had 
usurped the presidency, and banished him. He was 



84 SAM HOUSTON 

elected President in 1833, abolislied the Congress, 
and virtually made himself dictator. His defeat and 
imjprisonment in Texas destroyed his influence, until 
it was restored by his attack upon the French in Vera 
Cruz in 1838, in which he lost a leg. He was again 
President, or the governing power behind the nomi- 
nal occupant of the chair, from 1841 to 1844, when 
there was a revolution against him, and he went into 
banishment at Havana. From this he was recalled 
to be President and commander-in-chief of the army 
in the war between Mexico and the United States. 
After his series of defeats by Generals Taylor and 
Scott, he abandoned his office and retired from the 
country to Jamaica. Another revolution in 1852 re- 
called him to power, and in 1855 he was again driven 
into exile. He returned to Mexico when the French 
troops invaded the country in 1863, and was Grand 
Marshal of the Empire under Maximilian. He was 
banished by Marshal Bazaine for issuing proclama- 
tions and conspiring against the empire, and after its 
downfall was captured while attempting to make a 
landing in the country, and sentenced to death, but 
was pardoned by President Juarez on condition of 
leaving the country. In 1872 a general amnesty 
enabled him to return to Mexico, and he survived 
in harmless imbecility and contempt until the 20th 
of June, 1876. Santa Anna was a man of restless 
energy and ambition, and displayed considerable abil- 
ity both as an administrator and a military com- 
mander. He lost his head in the Texas campaign. 



HOUSTON'S ARRIVAL IN TEXAS 85 

but he was invariably successful in tbe Mexican civil 
wars, and in the battles with the American armies 
showed a good deal of strategic skill. He was utterly 
unscrupulous and treacherous, and betrayed every 
party and every ally that put trust in him. He was 
vindictive and cruel even beyond the barbarous habits 
of Mexican warfare, and never spared a defeated 
enemy. In habits and tastes he was a thorough 
Mexican, his favorite amusements being cock-fighting 
and card-playing, and his personal vices were gross 
and notorious. In personal appearance he was about 
five feet five inches in height, of spare form, dark 
complexion, and with what the English traveler, 
Euxton, described as "an Old Bailey countenance." 
But his manners were pleasing and insinuating when 
he chose to make them so, and his force of character 
was manifested in his speech and gesture. Up to 
the time of the invasion of Texas he had been suc- 
cessful in all his battles and schemes of ambition, 
and arrogated to himself the title of the "Napoleon 
of the West." 

The legislature of the State of Coahuila and Texas 
had passed a law forbidding the further settlement of 
American colonists, and limiting future grants to 
Mexicans. This and the general inconvenience and 
disorganization resulting from the enforced union of 
the two provinces determined the colonists in Texas 
to demand the organization of the territory into a 
State by itself. They elected delegates to a Con- 
vention for this purpose, and it met at San Felipe 



86 SAM HOUSTON 

on April 1, 1833. Houston was one of tlie dele- 
gates from Nacogdoches. William H. Wliarton was 
elected President, and committees were appointed to 
frame a state Constitution, and draw up a memorial 
to the Mexican Congress setting forth the reasons 
why a separation from Coahuila was asked for. 
Houston was chairman of the committee to frame 
a Constitution. The one reported was formed on 
the model of those of the States of the Union. It 
contained provisions for a trial by jury, the writ 
of habeas corpus, the right of petition, the freedom of 
the press, universal suffrage, and other essentials of 
a republican form of government. On the subject 
of the freedom of religion the Constitution was silent. 
Kesolutions offered by B rrnet, and supported by 
Houston, condemning and prohibiting the African 
slave trade, which had been carried on through the 
ports of Texas since the time of the settlement of 
the pirate Lafitte at Galveston, were adopted by the 
Convention. A debate arose on the question of incor- 
porating banking institutions. This was opposed by 
Houston, on the ground that it was unwise in itself 
and calculated to prejudice the Mexican government 
against the acceptance of the Constitution. Houston 
prevailed, and a clause was inserted in the Constitu- 
tion prohibiting the creation of any banking insti- 
tution for the term of ninety-nine years. An able 
memorial was drawn up by Burnet, setting forth the 
reasons why Texas was entitled to an independent 
organization; Stephen F. Austin, William H. Whar- 



HOUSTON'S ARRIVAL IN TEXAS 87 

ton, and James B. Miller were appointed delegates 
to present the petition to the Mexican Congress ; and 
the Convention adjourned after a session of fifteen 
days. 

Austin was the only one of the delegates who went 
to Mexico. When he arrived at the capital, he found 
that Gomez Farias, the Vice-President under Santa 
Anna, was exercising the executive power, Santa 
Anna having retired in one of his mysterious seclu- 
sions at Manga del Clavo. Great confusion prevailed 
in the Mexican government. The finances were dis- 
organized, and Congress, under the instigation of 
Farias, had passed laws disbanding a portion of the 
army and levying taxes on the property of the church. 
These caused great diss§ ^^^f action among two power- 
ful elements in the State, and revojutionary move- 
ments, probably instigated by Santa Anna, were 
continually breaking out in the capital and in the 
provinces. Austin could get no hearing on his peti- 
tion, and, in despair of obtaining any action, he 
wrote, on the 2d of October, 1833, to the municipal 
council of Bexar, recommending that all the districts 
in Texas should unite, and organize a State in ac- 
cordance with the provisions of the Constitution of 
1824, without waiting for the sanction of the Mexi- 
can Congress. In the mean time Austin had obtained 
the abrogation of the law, passed by the Coahuila 
legislature, prohibiting immigration from the United 
States, and started to return home. But his letter 
to the municipality of Bexar had been sent to Vice- 



88 SAM HOUSTON 

President Farias, wlio considered it treasonable, and 
had Austin intercepted and arrested at Saltillo. 
Austin was taken back to the city of Mexico, and 
imprisoned in one of the dungeons of the old Inqui- 
sition, where he was treated with great rigor, and 
denied the use of books or writing materials. 

On the 13th of May, 1834, Santa Anna reappeared 
from his seclusion, and resumed his office as Presi- 
dent. He dismissed the Congress, and promulgated 
a "Plan," which is the Mexican phrase for an altera- 
tion in the form of government, by which the laws 
for the taxation of church property and the banish- 
ment of monarchists were abolished, and a special 
Congress called to frame a new Constitution. Santa 
Anna released Austin from his dungeon, and pro- 
fessed great friendliness to him. But he was still 
detained at the capital, while the charges against 
him were transferred from one court to another with 
the obvious purpose of delaying his return. In the 
mean time the legislature of Coahuila and Texas had 
been disposing of enormous tracts of land at a nomi- 
nal price, under the pretext of providing a fund for 
the payment of troops to repress the Indian raids; 
and a quarrel, followed by an emeute, had arisen over 
the removal of the provincial capital from Saltillo to 
Monclova. On the 5th of October, 1834, Santa Anna 
called a council, consisting of the four Secretaries 
of State, the representatives of Coahuila and Texas, 
Austin, and Lorenzo de Zavala, Governor of the prov- 
ince of Mexico, to take into consideration the ques- 



BEGINNING OF DIFFICULTIES 89 

tion in dispute, and the petition of Texas for a sepa- 
rate organization. Santa Anna decided that Texas 
could not be separated from Coahuila, as there was 
no provision in the Constitution authorizing such ac- 
tions, but held out hopes that it might be organized as 
a Territory. He, however, ordered a new election 
for Governor and Legislature, and Austin wrote 
advising the people of Texas to accept the decision. 
Austin was satisfied, or professed to be, with Santa 
Anna's promises of liberal treatment to the Texan 
colonists ; but, as he was still detained as a prisoner, 
it is possible that he expected that his correspondence 
would be opened and examined. The people of 
Texas were at once alarmed and angered at the arrest 
and imprisonment of Austin. A meeting was held 
at San Felipe to protest against it, but the petition 
for his release had no effect. 

There were some abortive attempts at insurrec- 
tionary movements in Bexar and San Felipe during 
the fall of 1834, while Austin was imprisoned. But 
they were discouraged, as premature and jeopardizing 
Austin's safety, by the Central Committee appointed 
by the April Convention, and came to nothing. In 
the mean time the subservient Mexican Congress was 
carrying out the dictatorial purposes of Santa Anna. 
The province of Zacatecas, which had not acquiesced 
in the revolution, was declared to be in a state of 
rebellion, and Vice-President Farias, who was a sin- 
cere republican, was banished. The most important 
action, and one which made a revolution in Texas 



90 SAM HOUSTON 

inevitable was tlie passage of a decree reducing the 
number of the militia to one for every five hundred 
inhabitants, and ordering the rest to give up their 
arms. The arms of the Texans at that period were 
a part of their daily means of existence, as well as 
the protection of their lives and property, and to take 
them from the people would be to deprive them of 
an essential aid to their support, as well as to leave 
them and their families at the mercy of the maraud- 
ing Indians. There could be but one answer in such 
a community to a demand for the surrender of its 
arms, and the refusal would be justified by the fun- 
damental law of self-preservation. 

The legislative and executive government of the 
State of Coahuila and Texas was in a condition of 
anarchy. Augustin Viesca, a republican, had been 
elected Governor, but the people of Saltillo, angry at 
the removal of the capital to Monclova, had declared 
in favor of Santa Anna and raised the standard of 
revolt. The legislature had sold another large tract 
of Texas land at the price of two cents per acre, and, 
although professing to be liberal toward the Ameri- 
can colonists, had done nothing for their government 
or protection. Santa Anna advanced at the head of 
an army for the subjugation of the rebellious prov- 
ince of Zacatecas, On the 11th of May, 1834, a 
bloody and decisive battle was fought on the plain of 
Guadelupe between the army of Santa Anna and that 
of Don Francisco Garcia, the Governor of Zacatecas. 
The latter was routed with great slaughter, and the 



BEGINNING OF DIFFICULTIES 91 

city of Zacatecas given up to pillage. After having 
subjugated Zacatecas, Santa Anna returned to the 
capital, leaving behind him General Martin Perfecto 
de Cos, his brother-in-law, to regulate matters in Coa- 
huila. Governor Yiesca fled to Bexar, but afterward 
returned to Coahuila and was captured by the troops 
of Cos. Yiesca, and with him Colonel Benjamin F. 
Milam, a Texan empresario, who had taken part in 
the brilliant and daring expedition of Xavier Mina 
against the Spanish government of Mexico in 1817, 
were sent as prisoners into the interior. The legis- 
lature of Coahuila was dispersed by Cos. 

These events deprived the colonists in Texas of 
even the semblance of a government, and they organ- 
ized themselves into committees of safety for protec- 
tion against the Indians, who had become very 
troublesome, and had attacked and murdered a party 
of traders near Gonzales. These committees of safety 
had no design of resistance to the Mexican authori- 
ties, but there was an element among the colonists in 
favor of an immediate movement for independence. 
^^i ^ In June a meeting was held at San Felipe, at which* 
resolutions were adopted in a war spirit, and an 
address was issued by E. M. Williamson, known as 
"Three-Legged WiUie," calling upon the people to 
arouse themselves to resistance, and declaring that 
"Our country, our liberty, and our lives are all in- 
volved in the present contest between the State and 
the military." Early in the same month, William B. 
Travis, at the head of a party of fifty colonists, made 



92 SAM HOUSTON 

a descent upon the post at Anahuac, commanded by 
Captain Tenorio, and disarmed and drove out the 
soldiers. This act was disavowed by the municipal 
council of Liberty, and Captain Tenorio and his sol- 
diers were forwarded to Bexar by the citizens of San 
Felipe. Various attempts were made by represen- 
tatives of the peace party to arrange terms of con- 
ciliation with General Cos, and two commissioners, 
Edward Gritton and D. C. Barrett, were appointed to 
wait on him for that purpose. Cos professed liberal 
and pacific intentions, but, in the mean time, dis- 
patches from him to the commandant at Anahuac, 
announcing the departure of troops from Mexico "to 
regulate matters" in Texas, had been intercepted. 
Early in July, Lorenzo de Zavala, a prominent Mex- 
ican republican, who had been governor of the prov- 
ince and city of Mexico, and ambassador to France, 
arrived in Texas. He had refused to acquiesce in the 
despotic movements of Santa Anna, and fled to escape 
proscription. An order was at once sent to Colonel 
Ugartchea, in command at Bexar, for the arrest of 
Zavala, and also Travis, Williamson, Johnson, and 
other leaders of the war party. Ugartchea' s requisi- 
tion for the arrests was refused or evaded by the civil 
authorities, and, pending the abortive communica- 
tions of the peace commissioners with General Cos, 
no attempt was made to capture them by military 
force. The order for the arrests caused great excite- 
ment among the colonists, and greatly stimulated the 
war feeling. At a meeting at San Augustine resolu- 



BEGINNING OF DIFFICULTIES 93 

tions were introduced by Houston, and adopted, de- 
claring that the arrest of Governor Yiesca and the 
intended introduction of the military were evidences 
of tyranny and a violation of the terms on which the 
colonists had been invited to Texas. They also pro- 
vided for the appointment of a committee of safety, 
the organization of the militia, and for treaties of 
alliance with the neighboring Indians. It was also 
declared that those who should desert the country in 
the crisis should forfeit their lands. Houston and 
Rusk visited the Indians, and secured their alliance 
by pTOmising that the surveyors should make no more 
marks on their lands. Further trouble had occurred 
on the coast. After the ejection of Captain Teno- 
rio and his troops from Anahuac, Santa Anna sent 
Captain T. M. Thompson, an Englishman known 
as "Mexican" Thompson, in the schooner Correo to 
collect the revenue. Thompson, who was a desperado 
of buccaneering proclivities, conducted himself in a 
very high-handed manner. He captured the Ameri- 
can brig Tremont, with a supply of goods for the 
Texas trade, and attempted to seize the schooner San 
Felipe, Captain Hurd, but was beaten off. Subse- 
quently the Correo was captured by the San Felipe 
and the small steamer Laura, and Thompson was 
taken to New Orleans, where he was tried for piracy. 
Early in September, Stephen F. Austin returned to 
Texas, after more than two years' detention in Mex- 
ico. He was released by Santa Anna, with strong 
protestations of friendship for himself and the people 



94 SAM HOUSTON 

of Texas. Austin's arrival caused great rejoicing in 
his colony, and he was given a public dinner at Bra- 
zoria, at which he addressed a gathering of more than 
a thousand citizens on the condition of affairs. His 
speech was moderate in tone, and repeated Santa 
Anna's professions of good will toward the people of 
Texas. But it declared that liberal institutions were 
being overthrown in Mexico, and a centralized and 
despotic government established, and recommended 
the calling of a consultation of the people of Texas to 
"decide what representations ought to be made to the 
general government, and what ought to be done in 
the future." The moderation as well as the strength 
of Austin's character gave unity and confidence to 
the people, and hereafter public sentiment was organ- 
ized into a harmonious and definite form. Every one 
realized that a contest was inevitable, and the peace 
party gave way to that in favor of resistance. On 
September 13, a circular was issued by Austin, rep- 
resenting the committee of San Felipe, recommending 
the election of delegates to a General Consultation, 
and the organization and equipment of military com- 
panies. It declared that the peace negotiations with 
General Cos were useless. It concluded with the em- 
phatic words, "War is our only resource. There is 
no other remedy. We must defend our rights, our- 
selves, and our country by force of arms." About 
the middle of September, General Cos had landed at 
Copano and started to march to Bexar with five hun- 
dred troops. 



THE FIRST SKIRMISH 95 

On the 2d of October occurred the first clash of 
arms in the war of independence. In accordance 
with the decree for the disarmament of the Texans, 
Colonel Ugartchea, in command of the troops at 
Bexar, sent a demand to the people of the little town 
of Gonzales for a six-pounder cannon which had been 
supplied them by the authorities of Bexar for defense 
against the Indians. They refused to give it up, 
and Ugartchea dispatched Captain Castenada with 
a troop of a hundred cavalry, to demand it of the 
alcalde, and, if it was refused, to take it by force. 
When Castenada arrived at the west bank of the 
Guadelupe Kiver he found that the ferry boat had 
been removed to the east side. He made his demand 
across the river for the cannon, but was answered 
that the alcalde was absent. As soon as the first 
requisition had been made for the cannon the people 
of Gonzales had sent messages to the neighboring 
colonists asking for help, in expectation that the de- 
mand would be renewed by force. An armed party 
had been gathered at San Felipe for the purpose of 
attempting to intercept the march of General Cos to 
Bexar, but on the receipt of this appeal it hurried by 
forced marches to Gonzales. A reinforcement of 
volunteers also arrived from Bastrop. On the 30th 
Castenada made one or two attempts to cross the 
river, but, finding the fords guarded by the Texans, 
withdrew. The next day the Texan force, which had 
been increased, by the arrivals, from eighteen to a 
hundred and sixty-eight men, organized by the choice 



^ 



96 SAM HOUSTON 

of Jolin H. Moore, a distinguished Indian fighter, as 
colonel, and crossed the river at seven o'clock in the 
evening. Their advance was discovered by the Mexi- 
can pickets, who gave the alarm by firing. Both 
parties formed in array of battle and rested on their 
arms during the night. At four o'clock in the morn- 
ing, under cover of a dense fog which had sprung 
up, the Mexicans retreated to a mound on the prairie. 
When this movement was discovered at daylight by 
the Texan scouts, they fired upon the Mexicans, who 
pursued them to the main body, but were driven back 
by a discharge of the six-pounder. The Texans then 
advanced with their cannon, and prepared to give 
battle. Castenada attempted a parley with the evi- 
dent purpose of gaining time for the arrival of rein- 
forcements. Moore met him, and demanded that he 
should declare in favor of the Liberal Constitution 
and join the Texans, or surrender. Castenada re- 
fused and the battle was opened. The six-pounder, 
loaded with grape, was fired, and the Texans charged 
with a yell upon the Mexicans, who broke at the first 
onset, and galloped away to Bexar. The Texans did 
not lose a man. The Mexicans had a small number 
killed. This was the response to the first attempt to 
carry out the decree for the disarmament of the col- 
onists, and an evidence of the kind of fighters Santa 
Anna would have to meet in attempting to subdue 
•Texas to the condition of a Mexican province. 



CHAPTER VII 

BATTLE OF CONCEPCION — CAPTURE OF SAN 
ANTONIO 

The news of the figlit at Gonzales kindled the 
spirit of the Texan colonists into open flame. On 
the 3d of October, the committee of San Felipe issued 
an address calling upon each man in Texas to decide 
for himself whether he would submit to the destruc- 
tion of his rights and liberties by the Central Govern- 
ment of Mexico. "If he will not submit, let him 
give his answer by the mouth of his rifle." It con- 
cluded by announcing that "the citizens of Gonzales 
have been attacked, the war has begun," and appeal- 
ing to every citizen to march to the assistance of his 
fellow-countrymen now in the field. Meetings were 
held in all the townships, and bodies of armed men 
gathered together, and took their departure for the 
ser:'. of war. At a meeting at San Augustine, Octo- 
ber 5, Houston, Rusk, and other leading men were 
present, and a company of volunteers was raised, 
which left at once for the scene of action* At a gen- 
eral meeting of the committees of the township of 
Nacogdoches, Sam Houston was elected commander- 
in-chief of the forces in Eastern Texas, and at once 
engaged in organizing and forwarding the volunteers. 



98 SAM HOUSTON 

The leaders of the colonists gathered at San Felipe to 
consult with Austin. Among them was Zavala, who 
left his estate on the San Jacinto River to cast in his 
lot with the American colonists, and was welcomed 
as representing the liberal sentiment in Mexico, as 
well as for his own ability and reputation. On Octo- 
ber 8, Austin issued a general appeal to the citizens 
of Texas to hurry by forced marches to Gonzales, 
"without waiting for cannon or anything." The 
gathering at San Felipe formed a temporary govern- 
ment by electing a council of representatives from 
each municipality. The council elected R. R. Royall 
President, and Austin left to join the forces at Gon- 
zales. He arrived on the evening of the 10th of Oc- 
tober, and was at once elected commander-in-chief by 
general consent. He sent off messengers to hasten 
the arrival of the volunteers. Houston received the 
call at San Augustine, and took out his last five-dollar 
bill to give to the express rider, whom he dispatched 
to summon the citizens. The purpose of the army 
was the capture of San Antonio, and Austin marched 
on the 13th at the head of 350 men to a point on the 
San Antonio River about eight miles below the town. 
Here he encamped, and awaited reinforcements. 
General Cos had reached San Antonio on the 9th 
with 500 men, and immediately dispatched Colonel 
Ugartchea to the Rio Grande for a body of additional 
troops. 

Previous to Austin's advance a force of 110 men 
had been sent under the command of Captain Benja- 



BATTLE OF CONCEPCION 99 

min Fort Smith to take possession of Victoria. In 
tlie mean time the colonists in the neighborhood of 
Goliad had rallied for the capture of that place, 
where the Mexican commandant had been exercising 
an oppressive tyranny. They were only forty in 
number, but set out on the march for the town under 
the command of Captain George Collingsworth. 
They reached the ford on the San Antonio River 
below the town about midnight on the 9th of October, 
and sent forward scouts to reconnoitre. As the main 
body was feeling its way toward the town it came 
upon a man hiding in a thicket of mesquite bushes. 
It was Colonel Milam, who had made his escape 
from Monterey, through the connivance of his jailer, 
and ridden day and night for six hundred miles. 
Utterly exhausted, he had thrown himself down to 
rest, when he was aroused by the voices. He at first 
supposed the party to be Mexicans, and was prepar- 
ing to defend himself, when he discovered them to 
be Americans and made himself known. He joined 
the ranks, and the party penetrated into the town. 
As they reached the quarters of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Sandoval, the commandant, they were discovered and 
fired upon by the sentinel. He was killed by a shot, 
and the door of the house was broken in with axes. 
Sandoval was made prisoner, and the garrison, taken 
by surprise, offered no resistance. A portion of 
them escaped in the darkness, but twenty-five re- 
mained prisoners. Only the sentinel was killed in 
the affair. The spoils included supplies and muni- 



100 SAM HOUSTON 

tions of war to the value of 110,000, two or three 
pieces of artillery, and 500 stand of arms. The cap- 
ture of Goliad also broke up the communication of 
the Mexican troops with the Gulf, which was never 
afterward regained. The troops under Captain 
Smith found that the Mexicans had abandoned Victo- 
ria, and returned to join in the attack on Goliad, but 
only arrived the day after its capture. 

On the 20th, the forces under Austin moved up to 
the Salado Creek, about four miles from San Antonio, 
and a flag was sent to General Cos with a demand for 
the surrender of the place. Cos refused to receive it, 
and gave warning that he would fire on a second one. 
Austin remained in camp at the Salado, awaiting 
the arrival of reinforcements and artillery, and Cos 
busied himself in barricading the streets and building 
breastworks. While the army was encamped on the 
Salado, Houston arrived with a contingent of troops 
from eastern Texas. Unlike most of his associates, 
who took to fighting as readily as to any other occu- 
pation, Austin was diffident and uneasy in his posi- 
tion as commander-in-chief. He felt his incapacity 
in military affairs, and his health had also suffered 
from his long confinement in Mexico. On Houston's 
arrival Austin urged him to take the command. 
Houston declined, saying that the volunteers, who 
had gathered at Gonzales, had elected Austin as com- 
mander-in-chief, and that it would cause dissatisfac- 
tion if another should take his place. Austin argued 
that, as Houston had already been elected to the com- 



BATTLE OF CONCEPCION 101 

mand of the troops in eastern Texas, there would be 
no objection to his becoming the general-in-chief. 
Houston, however, persisted in his refusal, but 
offered to serve under Austin's orders. Houston 
was, doubtless, wise in refusing to take the command 
at the risk of causing dissatisfaction by seeming to 
displace Austin, but it is known that he did not ap- 
prove the movement for the capture of San Antonio, 
and had already written to Fannin and others advis- 
ing the concentration of the army behind the Guade- 
lupe. He did not as yet appreciate the fighting 
capacity of the Texan volunteers as compared with 
the Mexican conscript soldiers, and, perhaps, did not 
fully realize it until he saw it under his own eyes at 
San Jacinto. 

San Antonio was one of the oldest as well as the 
largest and most important of the S]3anish settlements 
in Texas. It had been founded in 1715 as a military 
post in consequence of the French schemes for the 
occupation of Texas from the colony of Louisiana, 
and to afford protection to the Missions of the Fran- 
ciscan friars, which were being planted in the valley 
of the San Antonio River. It had grown through 
various vicissitudes, and several captures by Ameri- 
can filibusters and Mexican revolutionists, to a town 
of about 2500 inhabitants, and was the depot of a 
considerable trade with the Indians and the northern 
Mexican provinces. Its situation was a lovely one, in 
the valley of the head-waters of the San Pedro Creek 
and the San Antonio River, whose limpid, green 



102 SAM HOUSTON 

waters wound their way through the town under a 
sheltering fringe of luxuriant foliage. Around it was 
a gently rolling prairie, whose elevations bounded the 
horizon. Noble groves of lofty pecan -trees filled the 
river bottoms and shaded the gushing springs. To 
the south, for a distance of ten miles, extended the 
stations of the stone churches and buildings of the 
Missions, each with its surrounding wall for a protec- 
tion against the Indians. The buildings were elabor- 
ate and strongly built, and some of the churches were 
decorated with fine and costly carvings, but at this 
time they were abandoned and falling to ruin. The 
colonies of Indian proselytes had disappeared under 
the attacks of the savage Comanches and Apaches, 
and the friars had withdrawn to Mexico. The great 
irrigation ditches, which had been dug to fertilize the 
broad valley, were filled up and choked, and the rich 
fields, which had flowered with tall maize, were over- 
grown with rank grass and mesquite bushes. The 
town was mostly on the west bank of the river, ex- 
tending into a deep indentation toward the east. It 
was grouped around two large squares, the Main and 
Military Plazas, which were separated by the church 
of San Fernando. The houses and main buildings 
were of stone, many of them strong and substantial, 
with thick walls and embrasured windows. But scat- 
tered among them, and extending into the suburbs, 
were the jacals or huts of the poorer Mexicans, con- 
structed of adobe, the sun-dried brick, or simply of 
wattles and mud. The inhabitants were almost alto- 



BATTLE OF CONCEPCION 103 

gether Mexicans, with a few American traders, and, 
although the town had considerably decayed since the 
early part of the century, there were a number of 
wealthy families, and a society which preserved the 
traditions of Spanish luxury and hospitality. The 
Indians professed a nominal friendship for the people, 
and frequented the place for trade. But they con- 
ducted themselves with a barbaric insolence and sense 
of mastery. They invaded the houses and helped 
themselves to articles without resistance, and a Mexi- 
can soldier would often be seen humbly holding the 
horse of a Comanche brave. On the east side of 
the river, about three fourths of a mile from the 
plaza, was the Mission of San Antonio de Valero, 
or the Alamo, with its church, convent, and walled 
inclosure. 

On the 27th of October, Austin sent a party of 
ninety men, under the command of Colonel James 
Bowie and Colonel James W. Fannin, to reconnoitre 
and select a position for the army nearer San Anto- 
nio, with instructions to return before night. This, 
however, they did not do, but encamped near the 
Mission Concepcion, about a mile and a half below 
the town, in a bend of the river, about a hundred 
yards wide, called the "Horseshoe." It was a strong 
position, the river and a skirt of timber protecting 
the rear, while in front the bottom sunk below the 
level of the prairie to the depth of from six to ten 
feet in the form of a semicircle open to the front, 
the steep bluff forming a protection to those behind 



104 SAM HOUSTON 

it. The Mexicans discovered the camp, and made 
preparations to surround it during the night, crossing 
the river at a ford about two hundred yards above it. 
Colonel Bowie was alarmed by the creak of an artil- 
lery wheel, and aroused the men, who lined the para- 
pet on both sides of the semicircle, and waited for 
daylight. The advance of the Mexicans came upon 
Henry Karnes, an outpost sentinel, in the darkness. 
He fired upon them and fell back into the camp. 
The dawn was darkened by a heavy mist, and the 
Mexicans commenced the attack by harmless volleys 
in the obscurity. As soon as it was light the Texan 
troops were drawn together on the south side of th€ 
angle, so as to avoid the danger of a cross-fire, and 
occupied themselves in clearing a path through the 
vines and underbrush, so as to readily rally upon an 
attacked point, and in cutting steps in the bluff, so 
as to fire over its edge. Before this work was com- 
pleted the Mexicans advanced with trailed arms and 
formed a line about two hundred yards from the bluff 
on the right flank of the Texans. Five companies of 
cavalry surrounded the whole front of the Texan 
position. The engagement opened with the deadly 
crack of a rifle from the extreme right of the Texan 
line. The fire of the Mexican infantry was in heavy 
and continuous volleys, which did no execution, 
while the Texans fired with single shots and an accu- 
rate aim, each man yielding his place to another at 
the parapet while he dropped back to reload. About 
ten minutes after the beginning of the engagement 



BATTLE OF CONCEPCION 105 

the Mexicans brought up a four-pounder cannon, 
which opened a harmless fire on the Texan right flank, 
and the trumpets sounded for a cavalry charge. The 
charge was broken by a volley from the Texan rifles, 
which emptied the foremost saddles, and the artillery- 
men were leveled around the gun. Twice the cav- 
alry was re-formed under blows from the flats of the 
oflicers' swords, only to break under the Texan fire 
as it charged; and three times the gun was cleared, 
the last man falling in a vain attempt to spike it. It 
was fired only five times, and was left in the hands 
of the victors. During the engagement the mules 
attached to the caisson were wounded, and tore 
through the line of the infantry, throwing them into 
confusion. After the third attempt to charge, the 
Mexican troops were re-formed on the prairie out of 
the reach of fire, and withdrew to San Antonio. The 
number of the Mexican troops was estimated at 400. 
Their loss was sixty-seven killed and forty wounded, 
the proportion showing the deadly accuracy of the 
Texan fire. Sixteen men were found dead around 
the cannon. The Texans had but one man, Richard 
Andrews, killed, and none wounded. A messenger 
had been sent to Austin, and he hurried up with 
the main army, but did not arrive until about half 
an hour after the fight was over. 

After the battle of Concepcion Austin moved his 
troops, who had now increased to about one thousand 
men, to a position north of San Antonio, and settled 
down into a sort of blockade of the town. At a 



106 SAM HOUSTON 

council of war it was decided tliat it would be impos- 
sible to capture the place without siege guns to batter 
down the walls and barricades. Houston and other 
delegates to the Convention left the camp for San 
Felipe in order to organize the civil government. 
Cos continued to fortify himself, and dispatched a 
messenger to Laredo to hasten the reinforcements. 
On November 25, Austin, who had been elected by 
the Convention as one of the commissioners to solicit 
aid in the United States, resigned as commander-in- 
chief, and left the army. General Edward Burleson, 
who had won distinction as an Indian fighter, was 
elected in his place. 

Various skirmishes took place between the Texan 
and Mexican forces, one of which was celebrated as 
the "Grass Fight." One of the principal scouts in 
the Texan army was Erasmus, or "Deaf" Smith, as 
he was called from his infirmity. Smith was a na- 
tive of New York, where he was born in 1787, and 
had been one of the early adventurers in Texas. He 
had taken part in Long's filibuster expedition in 
1819, and married a Mexican woman of San Antonio. 
He was a notable type of the wandering hunter and 
frontiersman, thoroughly at home in the wilderness, 
with a passion for solitude and the loneliness of the 
prairie and forest. He was celebrated among all his 
fellows for his skill in woodcraft, his coolness and 
daring, and was the most efficient scout of the army 
during all its campaigns. He was of medium size, 
with black hair and eyes, and a dark and leathery 



THE GRASS FIGHT 107 

countenance. On November 26, Smith had been out 
on a scout, and discovered a body of about one hun- 
dred cavahymen, who had been sent out by Cos to 
cut grass for his starving horses. Smith supposed 
them to be the reinforcements under Ugartchea, who 
was reported to be on his way from Laredo, and that 
the panniers of the mules were loaded with silver to 
pay o^ the Mexican troops. He galloped into the 
camp, and gave the alarm. The men instantly 
swarmed out at the cry of "Ugartchea," and Bowie 
dashed off at the head of one hundred mounted men 
to intercept the convoy. He came upon the Mexican 
cavalry about a mile from the town, and they took 
refuge in the d-Tj bed of a creek. Bowie's move- 
ments had been seen from San Antonio, and a party 
of the garrison sallied out to the relief of the fora- 
gers, bringing with them two pieces of artillery. 
They attacked Bowie as he was about to charge upon 
the cavalry in the ravine, and he wheeled to meet 
them. There was a brisk fight for some minutes, 
the Mexicans falling back. In the mean time the 
main body of the Texan army arrived on the ground, 
drove the foragers out of the ditch, and followed the 
retreating Mexicans to the town. The mules, with 
their panniers of grass, were captured. The Mexi- 
cans had about fifty killed and some wounded. The 
Texans had one killed and one missing. 

Meanwhile, the Texan troops, as is usual with all 
volunteer soldiery, had become impatient and dissat- 
isfied with the long and apparently fruitless service. 



108 SAM HOUSTON 

and were continually drifting away from the camp. 
There was no regular term of enlistment and no rigid 
rule of discipline. Every one came and went as he 
pleased. The army had gathered under a sudden 
impulse, and in the disappointment at the failure to 
immediately attack San Antonio many went home. 
Two companies of fifty men each arrived from the 
United States. They had been recruited in New Or- 
leans, fitted out by subscriptions of the citizens, and 
were called the "Grays." A company of volunteers 
also arrived from Mississippi, and another from east- 
ern Texas. But, in spite of these additions, Burle- 
son's army, on the 1st of December, did not amount 
to over eight hundred men. There was great dissat- 
isfaction among the volunteers at the prospect of con- 
tinued inaction. One Dr. James Grant, a Scotch- 
man, who had large estates in Coahuila, and had 
been driven out by the troops of Santa Anna, was 
active in endeavoring to induce a movement upon 
Matamoras, asserting that it would be supported by 
an expedition from the United States, and a revolu- 
tionary movement in Mexico. 

On December 3, three Americans, Messrs. Smith, 
Holmes, and Maverick, who had been detained as 
prisoners in San Antonio by General Cos, made their 
escape and came into the Texan camp. They gave 
such an account of the condition of the garrison and 
the defenses that it was decided to attack the town at 
daybreak the next morning. During the night one 
of the Texan scouts disappeared, and it was appre- 



CAPTURE OF SAN ANTONIO 109 

hended that lie liad deserted to tlie enemy with infor- 
mation of the intended attack. A council was hastily 
called in Burleson's tent, and it was decided to give 
up the venture and raise the siege. When this deci- 
sion became known to the troops there was almost a 
mutiny, and every indication that the army would 
disperse and fall to pieces. At this juncture the sus- 
pected scout returned, bringing with him a Mexican 
lieutenant who had deserted. The deserter con- 
firmed the accounts of the discouragement among the 
garrison and the weakness of the defenses. Colonel 
Milam urged Burleson to authorize an attack, and 
received permission to call for volunteers. Stepping 
out in front of Burleson's tent, he waved his hat, and 
shouted to the angry and disorganized men, "Who 
will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?" 
An eager crowd took up the cry, and gathered about 
him. Milam was elected the commander by accla- 
mation, and the men were directed to meet at night 
at the old mill on the banks of the river between the 
camp and the town. 

At the meeting of the volunteers, 301 in num- 
ber, at the mill, the plan of attack was arranged. 
The force was divided into two battalions, the first 
under the command of Colonel Milam, and the sec- 
ond under that of Colonel Frank W. Johnson, who 
had been prominent in the disturbance on the 
coast, and was on Santa Anna's proscribed list. 
The force moved to the attack just before dawn, 
and penetrated into the town, the division of Milam 



110 ' SAM HOUSTON 

entering by Acequia street, and that of Johnson 
by Soledad street. These streets led directly to 
the plaza, and at the upper ends were defended by 
barricades and swept by artillery. As they moved 
along in the darkness between the low walls of the 
houses, a sentinel gave the alarm, and was shot by 
Deaf Smith, who was leading Johnson's force as a 
guide. The drums beat the alarm in the garrison, 
and the divisions rushed forward and broke into two 
houses for shelter. Milam's division took possession 
of the house of De La Garcia, and Johnson's that of 
the Vice-Governor, Veramendi. These houses were 
opposite to each other on the two streets, and about 
a hundred yards from the plaza. In the mean time 
Colonel Neill, who had been dispatched from Burle- 
son's camp to make a feint on the Alamo, opened 
fire, withdrawing after the engagement became gen- 
eral in the town. The Mexicans, as usual, fired 
furiously and wildly with cannon and small arms. 
The Texans waited for daylight, and then through 
the windows and the loop-holes, which they had made 
in the walls of the houses, picked off the cannoneers 
at the barricades, and every Mexican soldier who 
showed himself. They had brought with them two 
cannon, a twelve and a six pounder, but the first was 
dismounted, and the second could not be served with- 
out a breastwork for the protection of the gunners. 
The streets were swept by the Mexican fire, so that 
there could be no communication between the two 
divisions. The battle lasted in this way all day, the 



CAPTURE OF SAN ANTONIO 111 

Texans having one man killed and fifteen wounded, 
among the latter two colonels and a lieutenant. 
Deaf Smith and some others were wounded on the 
top of Yeramendi's house, which they endeavored to 
hold, but from which they were driven by the Mexi- 
can fire. In the night the Texans succeeded in open- 
ing communication between the two divisions by dig- 
ging a trench across Soledad street under the enemy's 
fire, which was kept up during the darkness. The 
Mexicans spent the night in strengthening their bar- 
ricades, and in cutting holes for musketry fire through 
the parapet walls of the houses which commanded the 
street. During the following day the Texans suc- 
ceeded in mounting their twelve-pounder, and it was 
fired a few times without much effect. A party un- 
der Lieutenant William McDonald broke into a house 
adjoining that of Garcia, extending the line of attack 
toward the plaza. During the night the Mexicans 
kept up a feeble fire, and dug a trench on the Alamo 
side of the river for the purpose of opening a cross- 
fire. On the morning of the third day of the siege 
the Mexicans opened fire from the trench, but it was 
soon silenced by the Texan rifles. At noon Henry 
Karnes dashed forward at the head of a party, and 
broke down the door of a house still farther toward 
the plaza. It was occupied and held by Captain 
York's company. In the evening Colonel Milam 
was killed. He had crossed the lines to Colonel 
Johnson's position, and was just entering the court- 
yard of the Yeramendi house, when he was struck in 



112 SAM HOUSTON 

the head by a musket ball. A consultation of the 
officers was held, and the chief command was con- 
ferred upon Colonel Johnson. The body of Colonel 
Milam was buried where he fell. At ten o'clock 
that night the Texans broke into and occupied the 
house of Antonio Navarro, adjoining the Military 
Plaza and one block from the Main Plaza, and 
stormed a redoubt, which had been erected in the 
same street. The Mexicans attempted to dislodge 
them from the Navarro house by firing through loop- 
holes made in the roof, but the Texan rifles had a 
quicker and surer aim, and soon cleared the roof. 
On the fourth day of the siege the Texans attacked a 
row of houses adjoining the Navarro house, known as 
the "Zambrano Row." The houses were of stone 
with thick partition walls, which the Texans broke 
down with crowbars, clearing each room as they ad- 
vanced. The Mexicans resisted stoutly, but were 
finally driven out, and the Zambrano Row, which 
extended to one corner of the Main Plaza, was occu- 
pied by the Texans. During the day a small party 
of Mexicans from the Alamo advanced upon General 
Burleson's camp, but were driven off. In the even- 
ing Colonel Ugartchea arrived in town with a nomi- 
nal reinforcement. It consisted of 500 convict sol- 
diers, who had been marched in chains from the Rio 
Grande under the guard of 100 regulars. They 
brought no provisions with them, and their arrival 
was only an additional weakness. On the last night 
of the siege the Texans captured a building known as 



CAPTURE OF SAN ANTONIO 113 

the "Priest's House," whicli fronted upon the centre 
of the Main Plaza, and commanded the interior of 
the Mexican defenses. At ten o'clock a hundred 
men, by a quick rush from the Garcia house, gained 
the entrance to the Priest's House, and, under a 
heavy fire from an adjoining outbuilding occupied 
by the Mexicans, broke into and held it. They 
spent the night in barricading the doors and windows 
and in cutting loop-holes through the walls, the 
enemy keeping up a heavy and noisy fire. But the 
Mexicans did not wait to be exposed to the fire of the 
Texan rifles in the interior of their works, and with- 
drew before dawn to the Alamo. It is asserted that 
General Cos intended to make an attack upon Gen- 
eral Burleson's camp from the Alamo, but there was 
great confusion and some insubordination among the 
troops. The Alamo was crowded with women and 
children, who had fled from San Antonio. They 
were panic-stricken on the arrival of the retreating 
troops, and there was a commotion in which all order 
was lost. Some of the troops deserted and fled 
toward the Rio Grande. In the morning General 
Cos sent in a flag of truce to General Burleson pro- 
posing terms of capitulation. 

General Burleson repaired to San Antonio, and 
the terms were arranged. The articles were credit- 
able to the moderation of the victors. General Cos 
and his officers were allowed to retain their arms and 
private property on giving their parole of honor not 
to oppose the reestablishment of the Constitution of 



114 SAM HOlfSTON 

1824; the regular soldiers were to be allowed to re- 
turn to Mexico, or to remain, according to their own 
choice; the convict soldiers were to be conducted 
across the Rio Grande under guard; the troops re- 
turning to Mexico were to be supplied with provisions 
to last them on their march as far as the Rio Grande 
at the ordinary prices ; the sick and wounded were to 
be left to the care of the victors ; the public property 
and arms, of course, came into the possession of the 
Texans. On the 14th of December, General Cos set 
out on his retreat with 1105 men, two cannon, and 
sufficient arms for protection against the Indians and 
to guard the convicts. 

The Texan loss at the capture of San Antonio was 
only two killed and twenty-six wounded. The loss 
of the Mexicans was not reported, and is variously 
estimated at from 100 to 300. Twenty-one pieces of 
artillery, a large quantity of small arms and muni- 
tions of war fell into the hands of the Texans. 

On December 15, General Burleson resigned the 
command of the army and returned to his home, leav- 
ing a force under the command of Colonel Johnson 
to hold the Alamo. The larger part of the volunteers 
left the camp for their homes, and the army was 
practically disbanded. During the siege of San An- 
tonio a slight engagement took place near the town of 
Lipanititlan on the Nueces. The garrison at Lipani- 
titlan under orders from General Cos had marched 
to attack Goliad, while the garrison of Goliad ad- 
vanced by another road and captured Lipanititlan. 



DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR AT TAMPICO 115 

Both parties retraced their steps and met on the 
prairie. The Mexicans were defeated and compelled 
* to surrender. They were released on the condition 
that they should leave the country, and not bear arms 
against the Texans. After General Cos's retreating 
forces had crossed the Kio Grande, there was not an 
armed Mexican soldier left in the territory of Texas. 
Just after the capture of San Antonio a very pain- 
ful and disgraceful affair occurred at Tampico. 
General Mexia, a leader of the Liberal party in Mex- 
ico, fled from the country, and went to New Orleans. 
There he concocted a plot to force a party of emi- 
grants to Texas to join in a descent upon Tampico. 
On November 6, the emigrants, to the number of 130, 
embarked on the schooner Mary Jane, bound, as the 
greater part of them supposed, to Matagorda. When 
they had been six days at sea they were informed 
that the vessel was bound to Tampico, and that they 
were expected to take part in a revolutionary move- 
ment. About fifty, who were probably privy to the 
plot, consented to enlist. The rest were confined in 
the hold. In attempting to enter the harbor of Tam- 
pico the schooner struck on the bar and was wrecked. 
The party got ashore in their boats. The officer in 
command of the fort on the north of the town, who 
was probably in collusion with Mexia, surrendered it 
at the first demand. The next day, Sunday, Decem- 
ber 15, arms were forced into the hands of those who 
had previously refused to serve, and an advance was 
made upon the town. Mexia expected that a party 



116 SAM HOUSTON 

of the inhabitants would declare in his favor, but 
they rallied unanimously in defense of the Central 
Government, with shouts of "Viva Santa Anna!" • 
and "Death to the Foreigners! " A feeble attack on 
the plaza was repulsed, and Mexia and a portion of 
the troops escaped on board a small vessel in the har- 
bor, which landed them at the mouth of the Brazos. 
Thirty-one were taken prisoners. Three died of 
their wounds, and twenty-eight were shot, in spite of 
heavy ransoms offered for their release. 

The Mexicans had two armed vessels upon the 
coast, the Bravo and the Montezuma, which caused 
considerable annoyance to the Texas trade. Early in 
November, the Bravo pursued and drove ashore near 
Pass Caballo the schooner Hannah Elizabeth, laden 
with arms and ammunition for the Texan troops and 
a private consignment of goods. The Bravo took off 
the crew and passengers, and left a prize crew on 
board the stranded Hannah Elizabeth. The Bravo 
was driven off by a gale, and the citizens of Mata- 
gorda manned the schooner William Bobbins, which 
sailed out and recaptured the Hannah Elizabeth. 
The Mexican vessels disappeared from the coast. 



CHAPTER VIII 

ORGANIZATION OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT — 
HOUSTON ELECTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 

A MEETING of tlie delegates to form a provisional 
government had been held at San Felipe on the 16th 
of October, but no quorum was present, and it ad- 
journed until the 1st of November. A number of the 
leading delegates had accompanied Austin's force in 
its advance to San Antonio, and, while it was en- 
camped before that place, a council was held to con- 
sider the question of whether they should remain, or 
return and organize the civil government. There 
was then no prospect of any decisive operation in the 
immediate future, and it was decided that they should 
return. 

The Consultation met at San Felipe on November 
3. It consisted of fifty-five delegates, representing 
all the municipalities in Texas, except Bexar and 
Goliad. Branch T. Archer was elected President. 
The sessions were held in a small frame house, con- 
sisting of one room without ceiling or plaster, and 
many of the delegates, doubtless, camped out at night 
by the side of the horses which brought them. Hous- 
ton still wore his Indian dress of blanket and buck- 
skin, and it was in reply to some comment on his 



118 SAM HOUSTON 

appearance at this occasion that Jackson is reported 
to have said he "thanked God there was one man, 
at least, in Texas, whom the Ahnighty had the mak- 
ing of, and not the tailor." The remark, if made, 
was as affected as Houston's costume, for Jackson 
knew as well as anybody that Houston's Indian dress 
was only a part of his theatrical vanity, and as much 
a piece of dandyism as if it had been the most ultra- 
fashionable civilized costume. The convention ap- 
pointed a committee of twelve, of which John A. 
Wharton was chairman and Houston a member, to 
prepare a declaration of the causes which induced 
Texas to assume its attitude of revolt against the 
Central Government, and a committee of five to pre- 
pare a constitution for a provisional government. 
The committee on the declaration reported November 
7 the following vigorous and concise decree of pro- 
visional independence under the Mexican Constitu- 
tion of 1824:— 

"Whereas General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna 
and other military chieftains have, by force of arms, 
overthrown the federal institutions of Mexico, and 
dissolved the social compact which existed between 
Texas and the other members of the Mexican Con- 
federacy, now the good people of Texas, availing 
themselves of their natural rights, solemnly declare : 

"1. That they have taken up arms in defense of 
their rights and liberties, which were threatened by 
the encroachments of military despots, and in de- 
fense of the Republican Principle of the Federal 



THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT 119 

Constitution of Mexico of eighteen hundred and 
twenty-four. 

"2. That Texas is no longer, morally or civilly, 
bound by the Compact of Union ; yet, stimulated by 
the generosity and sympathy common to a free peo- 
ple, they offer their support and assistance to such 
members of the Mexican Confederacy as will take up 
arms against military despotism. 

"3. That they do not acknowledge that the present 
authorities of the nominal Mexican Republic have 
the right to govern within the limits of Texas. 

"4. That they will not cease to carry on war 
against the said authorities while their troops are 
within the limits of Texas. 

"5. That they hold it to be their right, during the 
disorganization of the Federal system and the reign 
of despotism, to withdraw from the Union, to estab- 
lish an independent government, or to adopt such 
measures as they may deem best calculated to protect 
their rights and liberties ; but that they will continue 
faithful to the Mexican government so long as that 
nation is governed by the Constitution and laws, 
which were formed for the government of the Politi- 
cal Association. 

"6. That Texas is responsible for the expenses of 
her armies now in the field. 

"7. That the public faith of Texas is pledged for 
the payment of any debts contracted by her agents. 

"8. That she will reward by donations of land all 
who may volunteer their services in her present strug- 
gle, and receive them as citizens. 



120 SAM HOUSTON 

" These declarations we solemnly avow to the world, 
and call God to witness their truth and sincerity ; and 
invoke defeat and disgrace upon our heads should we 
prove guilty of duplicity." 

The proposed declaration caused a warm debate, a 
considerable number of the delegates being in favor 
of a decree of absolute independence. A resolution 
in favor of absolute independence was actually car- 
ried, but Houston prevailed upon one of the mem- 
bers, who voted for it, to move a reconsideration, 
and, after a powerful speech, succeeded in having the 
declaration adopted. Houston and those who acted 
with him were evidently of the opinion that the Lib- 
eral party in Mexico might possibly regain power by 
a revolt against Santa Anna, or at least that they 
would be able to check any repressive action on the 
part of the Central Government so long as Texas 
professed a willingness to remain as a Mexican state. 
There was still a party in Texas in favor of peaceful 
measures, and, while there could be little doubt that 
the ultimate tendency of events would bring about 
complete independence, it was thought prudent to 
hold to the previous declaration of adherence to the 
Constitution of 1824. It is likely, also, that it was 
believed that this course would have a good effect 
upon public opinion in the United States, and remove 
the conception that the revolt of the Texans was a 
filibuster movement originating in a conspiracy. 

The Constitution for a provisional government was 
adopted November 13. It provided for the election of 



HOUSTON ELECTED COMMANDER 121 

a governor and lieutenant-governor, and an advisory 
council to consist of one member from eacli munici- 
pality. The government was authorized to contract 
for a loan of 11,000,000, on the security of the public 
lands, to arrange for treaties of friendship and al- 
liance with the Indians, to establish a postal service 
and courts of justice and admiralty. The land com- 
missioners were ordered to cease their functions dur- 
ing the interregnum, and the recent sales of lands by 
the Legislature of Coahuila and Texas were repu- 
diated. It was decreed that all male citizens, capa- 
ble of bearing arms, who should leave the country 
while Texas was in revolt, should forfeit their lands. 
Provision was made for the creation of a regular 
army of 1120 men, to be subject to the same rules 
and regulations as those of the army of the United 
States, and for the election of a major-general com- 
manding. Austin would have been the natural choice 
of the delegates for Governor, but it was considered 
that his services would be more valuable as a commis- 
sioner to solicit aid in the United States. Henry 
Smith was elected Governor, and James W. Rob- 
inson, Lieutenant-Governor. Stephen F. Austin, 
Branch T. Archer, and William H. Wharton were 
appointed commissioners to the United States. Sam 
Houston was elected commander-in-chief with but one 
dissentient vote. The Consultation adjourned to meet 
at Washington on the 1st of March, provided the 
provisional government should still be in existence. 
Houston appointed his staff, and drew up a plan for 



122 SA3I HOUSTON 

the organization of the army. But the Council de- 
layed in passing the necessary ordinances for the 
recruiting service and the election of officers. There 
was a good deal of confusion and some disturbance in 
popular feeling. Some of the restless and ambitious 
adventurers, discontented at their exclusion from 
office and authority, denounced the Council, and en- 
deavored to subvert the government. A meeting was 
held at San Felipe at which a series of resolutions 
were offered by Moseley Baker, declaring the Council 
imbecile, and calling for the establishment of a more 
energetic government. Baker supported the resolu- 
tions in a violent speech. Houston again demon- 
strated the power of his impassioned and forcible 
eloquence upon the turbulent spirits. Having ob- 
tained permission to address the meeting, he pointed 
out the folly of discord in such a crisis, when their 
liberties were at stake. The Consultation had been 
appointed by the sovereign will of the people, and 
could not abandon their trust with honor. To advo- 
cate its dissolution and plunge the country into anar- 
chy at such a time would be worse than the act of a 
midnight incendiary. Drawing up his figure to its 
full height, and pointing his finger at Baker, he said, 
"I had rather be a slave and grovel in the dust all 
my life than be a convicted felon." Baker, although 
a brave man, was thoroughly cowed, tore up the 
manuscript of his resolutions, and endeavored to 
excuse himself by saying that he had been put for- 
ward by others to make the movement. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY 123 

Houston addressed several letters to the Governor 
and Council, pointing out the necessity of more thor- 
ough and rapid action for the organization of the 
army, and warning them that the enemy would un- 
doubtedly advance with a large force for the subju- 
gation of Texas. But the Governor and Council 
were more engaged in wrangling over the distribu- 
tion of the offices than in taking means for the effec- 
tual defense of the country. Finally the necessary 
ordinances were adopted, and on December 13, Hous- 
ton issued a proclamation, from his headquarters at 
Washington on the Brazos, calling for recruits for 
the regular army and for the volunteer service. For 
all who enlisted for two years, or during the war, a 
bounty of 124 and eight hundred acres of land were 
offered. To the volunteers for two years, or the war, 
was offered a bounty of six hundred Aacres',/and for 
one year, a bounty of three hundred and twenty acres. 
No bounty was offered for lesser terms of service. 
The rights and privileges of citizenship were promised 
to all who would unite with the people in defending 
the republican principles of the Constitution of 1824. 
It concluded: "The services of five thousand volun- 
teers will be accepted. The 1st of March next, we 
must meet the enemy with an army worthy of our 
cause, and which will reflect honor upon freemen. 
Our habitations must be defended; the sanctity of 
our hearths and homes must be preserved from pollu- 
tion. Liberal Mexicans will unite with us. Our 
countrymen in the field have presented an example 



124 SAM HOUSTON 

worthy of imitation. Generous and brave hearts 
from a land of freedom have joined our standard 
before Bexar. They have by their heroism and valor 
called forth the admiration of their companions in 
arms, and reflected honor on the land of their birth. 
Let the brave rally to our standard." 

The quarrels which broke out between the Gover- 
nor and Council paralyzed all Houston's efforts, and 
prevented the organization of any adequate force to 
resist Santa Anna's expected invasion. The first 
difficulty arose over the appointment, by the Council, 
of Thomas F. McKinney, as a special agent to borrow 
$100,000 on behalf of Texas. The appointment was 
vetoed by the Governor, on the ground that the com- 
missioners to the United States had already been 
empowered to contract a loan. The Council unani- 
mously passed the ordinance appointing McKinney 
over the veto. General Mexia, on his return from his 
disgraceful expedition to Tampico, made application 
to the Texan government for aid in organizing an 
invasion of Mexico. The Council passed a resolution 
to assist him, which Governor Smith vetoed, declar- 
ing that Mexia was an adventurer, who was only 
desirous of recruiting his own desperate fortunes by 
robbery, and announcing his opposition to any con- 
nection with the Mexicans in the struggle, as he 
believed that they would be found hostile and treach- 
erous. The Council passed the resolution over the 
veto, and invited General Mexia to join the forces 
before San Antonio. This he declined to do, and 



QUARRELS IN THE GOVERNMENT 125 

the Council withdrew their promise of aid. The 
Council elected D. C. Barrett, one of their number, 
to be judge advocate-general, and Edward Gritton to 
be collector of the port of Copano. Barrett and 
Gritton had been the peace commissioners to General 
Cos, and their fidelity to the Texan cause was sus- 
pected. Governor Smith vetoed both the appoint- 
ments, making strong charges against the personal 
character of Barrett ; but the Council voted that both 
the commissions should be issued. The Council as- 
sumed a hostile attitude toward Houston, and he 
complained that the Committee of Correspondence 
had thrown obstacles in the way of recruiting. Not 
only were the colonists discouraged from enlisting by 
these quarrels of the authorities, but the foreign vol- 
unteers, who had begun to arrive from the United 
States, were disgusted at the lack of any organization 
to receive and provide for them. Houston found at 
Washington a company from Kentucky and one from 
Alabama who were threatening to return home. 

In the mean time, after the capture of San An- 
tonio, Dr. Grant had renewed his schemes for the 
invasion of Mexico. He had fought bravely during 
the attack on the town, been severely wounded, and 
gained the confidence of the volunteers. He had 
never been a citizen of Texas, and was not interested 
in securing its independence, so much as in recover- 
ing his own rich estates and mines at Parras. He 
doubtless believed that the people of Coahuila would 
be ready to revolt against Santa Anna at the first 



126 SAM HOUSTON 

oj^portunity, and excited tlie minds of tlie volunteers 
with visions of the easiness of the conquest and the 
pros]3ects of rich rewards in booty and lands. The 
volunteers from the United States, who had come to 
Texas for war and adventure, were disappointed at 
being left in inactive occupation of San Antonio, and 
were eager for the expedition. They did not con- 
sider the lessons of failure that had followed every 
attempt at the invasion of Mexico by a foreign expe- 
dition, in the expectation that it would receive the 
support of any portion of the inhabitants. Mexican 
jealousy had always been aroused by the appearance 
of any foreign force, and all parties had united to 
oppose it. The capture of Matamoras itself, even if 
it could be accomplished, would have been of little 
value, for the customs' revenue would have been im- 
mediately withdrawn. Houston and Governor Smith 
did not favor Grant's scheme, but it was necessary 
to do something to occupy the attention of the Ameri- 
can volunteers, and preserve the direction of affairs 
which would otherwise have been taken out of their 
hands. On December 17, Houston sent an order to 
Colonel James Bowie to organize and take command 
of an expedition for the capture of Matamoras. If 
he did not consider this to be practicable he was to 
secure a position on the frontier, and annoy the 
enemy by all the means possible in civilized warfare, 
and under all circumstances to hold the port of Co- 
pano. Bowie had left Goliad for San Antonio, and 
did not receive the order. Houston also sent orders 



INTERFERENCE WITH HOUSTON 127 

to the quartermaster-general at New Orleans that 
volunteers from the United States, sailing from that 
port, should land at Copano or Matagorda, and ren- 
dezvous at Refugio and Goliad. It is not probable 
that Houston, in concentrating his troops in the 
West, had any other purpose than to head off Grant's 
expedition, and to have them ready to meet the inva- 
sion of Santa Anna. The troops in the service of 
Texas at that time amounted to only about 750 men; 
400 at San Antonio ; 200 at Yelasco : 70 at Washing- 
ton, and 80 at Goliad. And with the best results of 
recruiting and the expected arrivals from the United 
States, no force could be gathered which would be at 
all adequate for the invasion of Mexico. 

While Houston had been issuing these orders the 
Council had proceeded to supersede his authority. 
Colonel F. W. Johnson, who had been left in com- 
mand of the Alamo, favored the project of Dr. Grant, 
and went to San Felipe, where he received authority 
from the Council to take command of the expedition. 
Meantime, Grant had collected his volunteers at San 
Antonio to the number of between three and four 
hundred, seized the arms and munitions of war be- 
longing to the State, pressed horses and supplies 
from the inhabitants, and set out on his march. 
Colonel Neill was left in defense of the Alamo with 
only about sixty men. The Council authorized Col- 
onel J. W. Fannin, who had been appointed by 
Houston colonel of artillery, and sent to Velasco on 
recruiting service, to act as its "agent" to collect 



128 SAM HOUSTON 

and organize the troops now in the State, or expected 
to arrive, at Copano, for the expedition to Mata- 
moras, with authority to contract a loan of 13000, 
and appoint "sub-agents." He was also directed to 
hold an election for commander of the forces after 
they should be concentrated. All this was a direct 
supersession of the authority of the Governor and 
the commander - in - chief. Houston was profoundly 
affected by these miserable intrigues, which threat- 
ened the destruction of Texas, and wrote to Governor 
Smith in very impassioned terms on receipt of the 
report of Colonel Neill as to the condition of affairs 
at the Alamo : — 

Headquarters, Washington, January 6, 1835. 
Sir, — I have the honor to inclose to your excel- 
lency the report of Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. Neill of 
the artillery; and most respectfully request that you 
will render to the cause of Texas and humanity the 
justice of bestowing upon it your serious attention, and 
referring it to the General Council of the provisional 
government in secret session. There, I may be per- 
mitted to hope, you will attend in person, that all the 
essential functionaries of the government may delib- 
erate and adopt some course that will redeem our 
country from a state of deplorable anarchy. Manly 
and bold decision alone can save us from ruin. I 
only require orders and they shall be obeyed. If the 
government now yields to the unholy dictation of 
speculators and marauders upon human rights, it 



HOUSTON COMPLAINS 129 

were better that we had yielded to the despotism of a 
single man, whose ambition might have been satisfied 
by our unconditional submission to his authority, and 
a pronouncement, for which we are asked, in favor 
of his power. 

In the present instance the people of Texas have 
not even been consulted. The brave men, who have 
been wounded in the battles of Texas, and the sick 
from exposure in her cause, without blankets or sup- 
plies, are left neglected in her hospitals; while the 
needful stores and supplies are diverted from them, 
without authority and by self -created officers, who do 
not acknowledge the only government known to Texas 
and the world. 

Within thirty hours I shall set out for the army, 
and repair there with all possible dispatch. I pray 
that a confidential dispatch may meet me at Goliad, 
and, if I have left, that it may pursue me wherever I 
may be. 

No language can express my anguish of soul. Oh, 
save our poor country !-— send supplies to the 
wounded, the naked, the sick, and the hungry, for 
God's sake! What will the world think of the au- 
thorities of Texas? Prompt, decided, and honest 
independence is all that can save them and redeem 
the country. I do not fear, — I will do my duty ! 
I have the honor, etc., 

Sam Houston. 

Governor Smith shared Houston's indignation, 



130 SAM HOUSTON 

but, in place of meeting and conferring with the 
Council, he sent them a message couched in the most 
violent language. He denounced Grant's expedition 
as piratical, and accused members of the Council of 
conniving at it. He applied to these members the 
epithets of "Judases," "parricides," and "wolves," 
and called upon the honest men to drive out the 
scoundrels, whom they would detect by "the contrac- 
tion of the eyes, the gape of the mouth, the vacant 
stare, the hung head, the restless, fidgety disposition, 
the sneaking, sycophantic look, the natural meanness 
of countenance, the unguarded shrug of the shoulders, 
a sympathetic and tickling contraction of the muscles 
of the neck anticipating the rope, a restless eagerness 
to adjourn, dreading to face the storm themselves 
have raised." After this extraordinary appeal to 
their sensibilities, he declared the Council adjourned 
to March 1, unless it immediately and publicly re- 
nounced its errors. The Council appointed a com- 
mittee to confer with the Governor, and attempted 
some peaceful arrangement; but he was inexorable. 
On January 11 the Council adopted a resolution 
declaring his language "low, blackguardly, and vin- 
dictive," ordered his message to be returned to him, 
and declared him deposed from office. Governor 
Smith at first endeavored to conciliate the Council, 
apologizing for the harslmess of his language, and 
expressing the desire that there might be harmony 
between the two branches of the government for the 
common welfare ; but no arrangement resulted. The 



DISORGANIZATION OF TROOPS 131 

Governor retained possession of the archives, and 
issued orders to such officers as would obey him, ful- 
minating from time to time an address or a handbill 
against the Council. The Council issued an address 
to the people vindicating its course, but soon ceased 
its meetings for want of a quorum. Before it dis- 
persed, upon the advice of Austin and others, it ap- 
pointed an election for February 1, for delegates to 
a general convention to be held March 1. Fannin 
and Johnson continued to exercise the authority 
given them by the Council, and both claimed the 
supreme direction of the proposed expedition to 
Matamoras. Fannin called upon the troops concen- 
trated at Copano to hold an election of officers. 
Fannin was chosen colonel, and Major William 
Ward, who had arrived from Georgia at the head of 
three companies of volunteers, lieutenant-colonel. 

Under orders from Governor Smith to establish 
headquarters at Bexar or elsewhere on the frontier, 
and commence active hostilities as soon as possible, 
Houston left Washington on the 8th of January, and 
reached Goliad on the night of the 14th. He found 
great confusion among the troops on the frontier. 
Dr. Grant had passed with his volunteers from San 
Antonio, and, styling himself "acting commander-in- 
chief," had seized a cahallada of horses belonging to 
citizens of Goliad. Captain Dimitt, in command of 
the regular forces at Goliad, had been superseded 
by Captain Wyat of the volunteers from Alabama. 
There was a want of food among the troops, and the 



*>• 



132 SAM HOUSTON 

supplies expected from New Orleans had not arrived 
at Copano. Houston issued orders for the concen- 
tration of the troops at Refugio, where beef at least 
could be obtained, but had great difficulty in per- 
suading the men to march on account of their discon- 
tent at the failure of the government to provide them 
with either food or clothing. A message was received 
from Colonel Neill, in command at San Antonio, that 
he expected to be attacked by a large force of the 
enemy, and Houston dispatched Colonel Bowie to his 
assistance. He ordered Colonel Neill to demolish 
the fortifications of the Alamo, and bring off the 
artillery. Colonel Neill replied that he had no teams 
with which to move the guns, and the garrison re- 
mained in the Alamo. Governor Smith sent Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Travis, who had been stationed on 
recruiting service at San Felipe, with a small party 
to reinforce the garrison. Colonel Neill returned to 
his home, and Travis assumed the command. While 
Houston was at Refugio endeavoring to bring some 
order out of the confusion and disorganization, Colo- 
nel Johnson arrived and exhibited the resolutions of 
the Council empowering him to take command of the 
expedition against Matamoras. Houston at the same 
time was informed of the deposition of Governor 
Smith. He considered that it would be useless to 
attempt to accomplish anything in such a conflict of 
authority, and that by remaining with the army he 
would be simply held responsible for the failures 
which would inevitably follow, without any power to 



FAILURE OF OPERATIONS 138 

prevent them. He addressed the vokmteers, dis- 
couraging the expedition against Matamoras, and 
returned to his headquarters at Washington, from 
whence he forwarded a communication to Governor 
Smith, giving an account of his proceedings, and 
arguing strongly against the competency of the Coun- 
cil to depose the Governor. While at Refugio he 
had been elected by the citizens a delegate to the 
Convention to be held March 1. 

The proposed expedition to Matamoras came to 
nothing. Johnson and Fannin were unable to agree 
as to who should have the command, and the volun- 
teers were so much discouraged by Houston's speech, 
pointing out the folly and inevitable failure of the 
expedition, that they refused to march. Johnson 
was left with only sixty men, and abandoned his en- 
terprise. Fannin remained with the volunteers from 
the United States for the defense of Goliad, but at- 
tempted no active operations. Grant and his men 
occupied themselves with raids for the stealing of 
horses. 

The commissioners to solicit aid in the United 
States met with a good deal of success. Austin made 
addresses in some of the principal cities, and the 
moderation as well as earnestness of their tone had 
a good effect upon the conservative opinion of the 
country, and relieved the revolt of the Texans from 
the imputation of being a filibuster enterprise. Sub- 
scriptions of money and arms were given to some ex- 
tent, and there was a warm feeling of sympathy for 



134 SAM HOUSTON 

the success of the colonists in the struggle. The 
commissioners succeeded in negotiating a loan of 
8200,000 in New Orleans, Austin pledging his pri- 
vate fortune as security. Of this they obtained 
820,000 in cash, and later they effected a loan of 
850,000 in cash. With these funds they purchased 
supplies, which kept the army from entirely falling 
to pieces. 

"While Houston had virtually given up the com- 
mand of the army, he was enabled to perform an im- 
portant service for the success of the colonists in their 
struggle. The Indians in eastern Texas, who in- 
cluded the Cherokees and other fragments of tribes 
driven from the United States, constituted a very 
formidable body. They were jealous of the aggres- 
sions of the colonists upon the lands, which had been 
granted them by the Mexican government, and were 
on friendly terms with the Mexican agents stationed 
among them. It was highly important that they 
should be conciliated and rendered passive, if not 
actively friendly, to the colonists. On November 13, 
the Consultation adopted a "Solemn Declaration" in 
regard to the rights of these Indians, to which each 
member subscribed his name. The declaration is in 
the handwriting of Houston, and was undoubtedly 
adopted by his influence. It reads : — 

"We solemnly declare that the boundaries of the 
claims of the said Indians are as follows, to wit, 
being north of the San Antonio road and the Neches, 
and west of the Angelina and Sabine rivers. We 



TREATY WITH INDIANS 135 

solemnly declare that the Governor and General 
Council immediately on its organization shall ap- 
point commissioners to treat with the said Indians to 
establish the definite boundaries of their territory, 
and secure their confidence and friendship. We 
solemnly declare that we will guarantee to them the 
peaceable enjoyment of their rights and their lands 
as we do our own. We solemnly declare that all 
grants, surveys, and locations within the bounds here- 
inbefore mentioned, made after the settlement of the 
said Indians, are and of right ought to be utterly 
null and void, and the commissioners issuing the same 
be and are hereby ordered immediately to recall and 
cancel the same, as having been made upon lands 
already appropriated by the Mexican government. 
We solemnly declare that it is our sincere desire that 
the Cherokee Indians and their associate bands should 
remain our friends in peace and war, and if they do 
so we pledge the public faith to the support of the 
foregoing declaration. We solemnly declare that 
they are entitled to our commiseration and protection, 
as the first owners of the soil, as an unfortunate race 
of people, that we wish to hold as friends and treat 
with justice." 

Samuel Houston, John Forbes, and John Cameron 
were , ointed commissioners to treat with the In- 
dian 'JM this basis. 

Aitc Houston's return to Washington he was 
gi^ a furlough by Governor Smith until March 1, 
ai lirected to carry out his instructions as one 



136 SAM HOUSTON 

of the commissioners -to treat with the Indians. 
Houston and Forbes visited the Indians, and held a 
grand council of the tribes at the village of Bowles, 
the chief of the Cherokees, where a treaty was con- 
cluded February 23, on the basis of the "Solemn 
Declaration." This kept the Indians quiet during 
the struggle, and it is perhaps needless to say that 
the treaty was repudiated by the Texan Congress 
after it was over. 



CHAPTER IX 

FALL OF THE ALAMO — CREATION OF THE 
REPUBLIC 

While the government and military organization 
of Texas had fallen into a condition of confusion 
and anarchy, Santa Anna had been consolidating the 
power in Mexico. The new Constitution abolished 
the state legislatures, and preserved only the forms 
of a federal government in a department council 
and governors of provinces appointed by the Presi- 
dent. The President was the supreme authority and 
absolute dictator in all but the name. The republi- 
can party was completely cowed, and the majority of 
the people of Mexico accepted the destruction of their 
liberties without a murmur, and even apparently with 
approval. Having completed this work, Santa Anna 
turned his attention to the subjugation of Texas, 
where alone his authority was resisted. He com- 
menced the concentration of troops at San Luis 
Potosi early in December, and dispatched the first 
brigade under the command of General Sesma for 
the relief of General Cos, then besieged in San An- 
tonio. Cos's retreating forces were met at the Eio 
Grande, and Sesma halted there to await the arrival 
of the remainder of the army. The other two bri- 



138 SAM HOUSTON 

gades, with the cavalry and artillery, were concen- 
trated at Saltillo, and Santa Anna took the command 
in person. General Vincente Filisola, an Italian, 
who had been for some time in the service of Mexico, 
and was the empresario of a grant of land in Texas, 
was appointed second in command. General Cas- 
trillon commanded the artillery, and General Au- 
drade the cavalry. Generals Tolsa and Gaona com- 
manded the second and third brigades. The troops 
were the best in the Mexican army, veterans of the 
civil war, and disciplined so far as the system of ser- 
vice was capable of doing it. From Saltillo Santa 
Anna dispatched General Urrea with 200 cavalry to 
Matamoras, with instructions to take command of the 
troops there, and move north to attack Refugio and 
Goliad. Early in February, Santa Anna reached 
Monova with his army, consisting of about 4000 
men, and set out with an escort of fifty cavalry to 
join General Cos and General Sesma on the Rio 
Grande. When the army was consolidated with the 
troops under Cos and Sesma it numbered between 
6000 and 7000 men. The march of the Mexican 
army from Monova to San Antonio, a distance of 
nearly 600 miles, was a most painful and trying one. 
The greater portion of the country was almost a des- 
ert, without inhabitants, except a few scattered vil- 
lages, a barren plain without shelter and almost with- 
out water. It was the dead of winter, and the snow 
and sleet and piercing "northers" swept down upon 
the thinly clad and unacclimated troops. In accord- 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 139 

ance with the Mexican custom, a great crowd of 
women, wives of the soldiers, and camp followers ac- 
companied the march, and added to the distress and 
difficulty. In spite of rapacious demands upon the 
inhabitants of the villages, food fell short, and the 
army was put on half rations. The animals died in 
great numbers, and it was with extreme difficulty 
that the cannons and wagons were dragged along. 
But the imperious energy of Santa Anna whipped 
the army along, and the advance guard appeared be- 
fore San Antonio on February 22. 

The garrison was taken by surprise. No scouting 
parties had been sent out, and so careless were the 
Texans that they had been attending a fandango two 
nights before, while Santa Anna was encamped on the 
Medina. He was informed of the condition of the 
garrison, and attempted to move forward for the sur- 
prise of the place during the night. But the ammu- 
nition wagons were on the west side of the river, 
the stream was swollen, and a heavy norther was 
blowing, so that he gave up his design. The first 
knowledge of the approach of the Mexican army was 
from the sentinels on the roof of the church. Their 
alarm was disbelieved at first, and two horsemen were 
sent out to reconnoitre. They came upon the enemy 
at Prospect Hill, an eminence a short distance west 
of the town, and were pursued by the Mexicans, one 
of them being thrown from his horse and breaking his 
arm. The garrison hastily retreated across the river 
to the Alamo, Lieutenant A. M. Dickenson catching 



140 SAM HOUSTON 

up his wife and cliilcl on his horse at the door of a 
Mexican house. As the garrison crossed the plain 
they swept up with them thirty or forty beef cattle, 
and drove them into the plaza of the fortress. When 
Santa Anna reached San Antonio he sent a flag with 
a demand for the immediate surrender of the Mis- 
sion. Travis dispatched Major Morris and Captain 
Marten to meet the flag, and on the return of his 
messengers gave his answer by an emphatic "no" 
from a cannon shot. The blood-red flag of "no quar- 
ter" was hoisted on the tower of the church of San 
Fernando, and the siege was begun by a cannonade 
from the Mexican guns. 

The Mission of the Alamo, which signifies the cot- 
tonwood-tree, was established, where it then stood, 
in 1722. It had been founded by the Franciscan 
friars from the college at Queretaro in 1710, in the 
valley of the Eio Grande, and after several removals 
on account of the scarcity of water and the attacks 
of the Indians, it had been finally located at San An- 
tonio. The buildings of the Mission consisted of a 
church in the usual form of a cross, with walls of 
hewn stone, five feet thick, and twenty-two and a 
half feet high. The church faced to the westward, 
toward the river and the town. The central portion 
of the church was roofless at the time of the siege ; 
but arched rooms on each side of the entrance and 
the sacristy, which was used as a powder magazine, 
were strongly covered with a roof of masonry. The 
windows were high up from the floor, and close and 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 141 

narrow, to protect the congregation from the flights 
of Indian arrows. The front was decorated with bat- 
tered carvings and stone images, and the entrance 
was barred by heavy oaken doors. Adjoining the 
church on the left and touching the wing of the cross 
formed by its walls was the convent yard, an inclos- 
ure about a hundred feet square, with walls sixteen 
feet high and three and a half feet thick, strength- 
ened on the inside with an embankment of earth to 
half their height. At the farther or southeastern 
corner of the convent yard was a sally port, defended 
by a small redoubt. The convent and hospital build- 
ing, of adobe bricks, two stories in height and eight- 
een feet in width, extended along the west side of 
the yard to the distance of 191 feet. It contained 
one long room in the hospital, and a number of small 
rooms and cells. The main plaza extended in front 
of the church and convent in the form of a parallelo- 
gram, with its side toward the river, and covered 
between two and three acres. It was inclosed by a 
wall eight feet high and thirty-three inches thick. 
On the southern end of the plaza were buildings used 
as a prison and barracks, and a heavy stockade of 
cedar logs had been planted from this corner of the 
plaza, which extended some twenty yards beyond the 
line of the church, diagonally to the corner of the 
church, and protected the entrance. Other build- 
ings and houses occupied places on the inside of the 
wall of the plaza, but were not of much strength 
or consequence. The Mission was entirely isolated 



142 SAM HOUSTON 

from the town, which was wholly on the west bank 
of the river, with the exception of a few miserable 
jacals on the eastern bank. There was a plentiful 
supply to water from the acequias, one on the south 
connecting with a ditch through the plaza, and the 
other skirting with its shallow, greenish stream the 
east end of the church. 

To defend this extensive place Travis had fourteen 
pieces of artillery. These were mounted on the walls 
of the church fronting north, south, and east; two 
were planted at the stockade, and two at the main 
entrance to the plaza; four defended the redoubt at 
the entrance to the convent yard, and others were 
placed at various points along the walls. There were 
no redoubts or bastions, except the single outwork in 
front of the sally port to the convent yard. It was 
evidently impossible to defend so wide a space with 
so small a garrison, and the defense was mainly con- 
centrated about the church and convent. Travis had 
been as careless about his supply of provisions as 
about his guard. Only three bushels of corn were at 
first found in the Alamo, but some eighty or ninety 
bushels were afterward discovered in one of the 
houses. 

The garrison, when it entered the Alamo, consisted 
of 145 men. The garrison comprised the men who 
had remained after the departure of the expedition 
under Grant, and such volunteers as had since strag- 
gled in. They had no training in arms, except in 
the use of the rifle, which was a necessity of their 




THE ALAMO MISSION 

I. Alamo Church. 2. Convent. 3. Inclosure or Plaza. 4 and 5. 
Prison and Entrance Gate. 6. House and Wall. '7, Powder Magazine. 
9. Stockade. 10. Redoubt. 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 143 

daily existence. Tliey were without definite military 
organization, and were only held together by a com- 
mon heroic purpose. The commander, Lieutenant- 
Colonel William Barrett Travis, was a native of 
North Carolina, twenty-eight years of age, and by 
profession a lawyer. He had taken a prominent part 
in the early troubles with the Mexican authorities, 
and was on the proscribed list of Santa Anna. In 
appearance he was six feet in height, erect and manly 
in figure, with blue eyes, reddish hair, and round 
face. The second in command was Colonel James 
Bowie, famous all over the West as the inventor 
of the terrible knife which bote his name. He 
was a native of Georgia, but removed to Chata- 
houla parish in Louisiana. While there he fought a 
desperate duel with one Norris W^right on a sand bar 
in the Mississippi. Bowie was shot down, and 
Wright bent down to dispatch him, when Bowie drew 
his knife and stabbed him to the heart. Bowie ac- 
companied Long's filibuster expedition to Texas, and 
afterward remained in the territory, engaged in 
smuggling African slaves from Galveston and in va- 
rious adventures. He had a prolonged and desperate 
fight with the Comanches, while at the head of a 
party in search of the old San Saba gold mines, and 
his hardihood and courage had become proverbial. 
He was a large, fair man, and, like many of the 
early Texans, occasionally worked off the fervor of 
his animal spirits by tremendous debauches of drink- 
ing. Another very notable figure among the defend- 



144 SAM HOUSTON 

ers of the Alamo was David Crockett. Crockett was 
a native of Tennessee, where he was born August 17, 
1776. He had spent his life in the woods, and was 
a mighty deer and bear hunter. He had also served 
as a soldier in the war of 1812. Without education, 
he had a shrewd and taking humor, and a great gift 
for popularity among the rude frontier population. 
He was a sort of king at the shooting matches and 
other rustic gatherings, and became a frontier politi- 
cian. He was elected to the state legislature, and 
afterward for two terms as a Eepresentative in Con- 
gress, where he figured as a sort of eccentric curios- 
ity. He was shrewd enough to exploit his character- 
istics as a backwoodsman, and was exhibited as a 
lion in Washington society. He visited the North 
on a popular tour, and published several books de- 
tailing his life and adventures, and a political bur- 
lesque biography of Martin Van Bur en, written in a 
quaint and forcible style.^ He was so impolitic as to 
set himself in opposition to the authority of President 
Jackson, and was defeated in his attempt to secure a 
third election to Congress. He resolved to try and 
renew his fortunes in Texas, and came to the territory 
in 1836. He arrived with twelve Tennesseeans at 
San Antonio about three weeks before the opening 
of the siege of the Alamo. In person he was tall 
and s]3are, with black hair and angular features ex- 
pressive of his shrewd humor. He dressed in buck- 

^ The book purporting- to be written by Crockett, and describing- 
his adventures in Texas, is obviously a fabrication. 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 145 

skin, carried his favorite long rifle "Betsy," and was 
conspicuous by his coonskin cap. Another man of 
distinction among the defenders of the Alamo was 
Colonel J. B. Bonham, of South Carolina, who had 
responded to the call of Texas for volunteers, and 
arrived in San Antonio shortly before the commence- 
ment of the siege. 

Santa Anna commenced his operations by erecting 
batteries for his fieldpieces, but did not make a com- 
plete investment of the Mission! The defenders 
occasionally re;^lied with their cannon, but in the 
main depended upon their rifles, which seldom missed 
their mark. General Castrillon, under orders from 
Santa Anna, attempted to build a bridge across the 
river from the timbers of the houses. The party was 
within the reach of the rifles of the Texans, and in a 
few minutes thirty were killed. The survivors were 
withdrawn. 

Travis sent the following appeal for assistance to 
the government, which has a stirring and heroic 
ring : — 

TO THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS AND ALL AMERICANS IN 

THE WORLD. 

Command ANCY of the Alamo, 
Bexar, February 24, 1836. 

Fellow-Citizens and Compatriots, — I am be- 
sieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under 
Santa Anna. I have sustained a continued bombard- 
ment for twenty -four hours, and have not lost a man. 



146 SAM HOUSTON 

The enemy have demanded a surrender at discretion ; 
otherwise the garrison is to be put to the sword if the 
place is taken. I have answered the summons with 
a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from 
the walls. / shall never surrender or retreat. Then 
I call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism, 
and of everything dear to the American character, to 
come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy are 
receiving reinforcements daily, and will no doubt in- 
crease to three or four thousand in four or five days. 
Though this call may be neglected, I am determined 
to sustain myself as long as possible, and die like a 
soldier who never forgets what is due to his own 
honor and that of his country. Victory or death ! 

W. Bareett Travis, 
Lieutenant- Colonel, Commanding, 

P. S. The Lord is on our side. When the army 
appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. 
We have since found in deserted houses eighty or 
ninety bushels, and got into the walls twenty or 
thirty beeves.^ 

1 The letter, in a firm and bold handwriting, now among- the state 
archives at Austin, has the following indorsements on the back by 
the couriers, who forwarded it : — 

" Since the above was written I heard a very heavy cannonade dur- 
ing the whole day. Think there must have been an attack on the 
Alamo. We were short of ammunition when I left. Hurry all the 
men you can forth. When I left there were but 150 men determined 
to do or die. To-morrow I leave for Bexar with what men I can. 
Almonte is there. The troops are commanded by General Sesma. 

Albert Martin." 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 147 

Colonel Bonham was also dispatcliecl witli a mes- 
sage to Colonel Fannin at Goliad asking him to come 
to the assistance of the garrison. 

On the 25th Santa Anna endeavored to erect a 
battery 300 yards south of the main entrance to the 
plaza, and a sharp skirmish took place in which eight 
Mexicans were killed. The enemy succeeded in 
erecting the battery during the night, and also one 
near the old powder house to the southeast. The 
same night the Mexican cavalry were stationed on 
the road leading to the east. On the 26th there was 
a skirmish between the Texans and the Mexican cav- 
alry on the eastern road, and during the night a 
party sallied out and burnt the jacals on the east side 
of the river, which had afforded shelter to the enemy. 
Santa Anna's troops continued to arrive, and the in- 
vestment of the Mission was made more complete. 
But it was not close enough to prevent the entrance 
of a party of thirty -two men from Gonzales, under 
Captain J. W. Smith, who stole their way through 
the enemy's lines, and joined the garrison on the 
night of March 1. On March 3, Colonel Bonham 
returned with a message from Colonel Fannin that 
he would march at once for the relief of the garrison. 
Fannin started on the 28th of February with 300 
men and four pieces of artillery. His ammunition 

" I hope that every one will Rendeves at Gonzales as soon Possible 
as the Brave soldiers are suffering- ; don not forget the powder is very 
scarce and should not he delad one moment. 

L. Smither." 



148 SAM HOUSTON 

wagon broke down, and he had not oxen enough to 
get his cannon across the river. The troops had no 
provisions except some rice and a little dried beef, 
and, after a council with his officers, Fannin decided 
to return to Goliad. On the 3d of March, Travis 
sent off his last message to the government : — 
/ "I am still here in fine spirits and well-to-do. 
With 145 men, I have held the place against a force 
variously estimated from between 1500 to 6000, and 
I shall continue to hold it until I get relief from my 
countrymen, or I will perish in its defense. We 
have had a shower of bombs and cannon balls contin- 
ually falling among us the whole time ; yet none of 
us have fallen. We have been miraculously pre- 
served. . . . Again, I feel confident that the deter- 
mined spirit and desperate courage heretofore ex- 
hibited by my men will not fail them in the last 
struggle; and although they may be sacrificed to the 
vengeance of a Gothic enemy, the victory will cost 
that enemy so dear that it will be worse than a de- 
feat. ... A blood-red flag waves from the church 
of Bexar and in the camp above us, in token that the 
war is one of vengeance against rebels. . . . These 
threats have had no influence upon my men but to 
make all fight with desperation and with that high- 
souled courage which characterize the patriot who is 
willing to die in defense of his country ; liberty and 
his own honor; God and Texas; victory or death! " 

The enemy had effected but little by their cannon- 
ade, their guns being only fieldpieces of light calibre. 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 149 

The garrison, however, was worn down by constant 
vigilance night and day, and frequent alarms in ex- 
pectation of an attack. 

After Santa Anna's troops had all arrived on 
March 2, they were given three days in which to rest 
after their weary march. On the 5th, Santa Anna 
held a council of war on the question of an immediate 
assault of the Alamo. A portion of the officers were 
in favor of awaiting the arrival of siege artillery, but 
Santa Anna determined on an assault the next day. 
On the morning of the 6th of March, Sunday, the 
forces for the assault were formed at four o'clock. 
The troops numbered 2500, and were divided into 
four columns. The first was under the command of 
General Cos, the second under Colonel Duque, the 
third under Colonel Eomero, and the fourth under 
Colonel Morales. The columns were supplied with 
scaling ladders, crowbars, and axes. The cavalry 
were drawn around the fort to prevent any attempt at 
escape. In the gray light of the morning the bugle 
sounded, and the bands struck up the Spanish air of 
Deguelo (Cut-throat), the signal of no quarter. 
Santa Anna witnessed the attack from the battery in 
front of the plaza. The troops dashed forward at a 
run, and were received with a deadly fire from the 
artillery and rifles. The column attacking the north- 
ern wall recoiled, and Colonel Duque was desperately 
wounded. The attacks on the eastern and western 
walls also failed, and the columns swarmed around to 
the north side. Here in a dense mass they were 



150 SAM HOUSTON 

driven forward by the blows and shouts of their 
officers. Once more they recoiled before the fire, but 
at the third trial they scaled the wall, "tumbling 
over it like sheep." They carried the redoubt at the 
sally port, and swarmed into the convent yard, for- 
cing the Texans into the convent and hospital. The 
captured cannon were turned against the flimsy adobe 
walls, and the Mexicans stormed the breaches. The 
Texans fought from room to room, using their 
clubbed rifles and bowie knives so long as they had 
life left to strike. Colonel Travis and Colonel Bon- 
ham fell here. The Mexicans fired a howitzer loaded 
with grape twice into the long room of the hospital. 
Fifteen Texans were found dead in the room, and 
forty-two Mexicans on the outside. The last struggle 
took place in the church. The column attacking on 
the south side carried the stockade and poured into 
the church. Major T. C. Evans, the commander of 
the artillery, started for the magazine to blow up the 
building, as the defenders had agreed should be done 
at the last extremity, but was struck down by a 
musket shot as he was entering the door. Crockett 
was killed near the entrance, with his clubbed rifle in 
his hand. Bowie was lying, disabled by a fall from 
a platform, on a cot in the arched room to the left of 
the entrance. He was shot through the door as he 
lay on his bed firing his pistols. Mrs. Dickenson, 
wife of Lieutenant Dickenson, and her infant child 
had been placed in the opposite room for safety. A 
wounded man by the name of Walters fled into the 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 151 

room. He was pursued by the Mexicans, who shot 
him, and then raised his body on their bayonets, "as 
a farmer does a bundle of fodder," until the blood 
ran down upon them. Mrs. Dickenson was protected 
by the interposition of Colonel Almonte. Mrs. Als- 
bury, a Mexican woman, niece and adopted daughter 
of the Vice-Governor Veramendi, and her little sister 
had gone to the Alamo with their brother-in-law, 
Colonel Bowie, and waited upon him after his injury. 
When the slaughter was over they came out of their 
hiding-place, and were protected by a Mexican officer. 
They were afterward recognized by a friend among 
the spectators, and taken to their home in San An- 
tonio. Mrs. Alsbury and her sister, Mrs. Dickenson 
and her child, a negro boy, servant of Colonel Travis, 
and a Mexican woman were the only persons spared 
by the Mexicans. 

At nine o'clock the Alamo had fallen. Santa 
Anna left the shelter of the battery and came upon 
the scene. Five persons, who had hid themselves, 
were brought before him. General Castrillon inter- 
ceded for their lives, but Santa Anna turned his 
back upon him with a reprimand for his weakness, 
and the Mexican soldiers dispatched them with their 
bayonets. 

After the slaughter the bodies of the dead Texans 
were collected by the order of Santa Anna, and piled 
together with alternate layers of wood. The mass 
was then heaped with dry brush and burned. The 
ashes and bones were left to the dogs and the vul- 



152 SAM HOUSTON 

tures. A year later, wliat remained were placed in a 
coffin by order of Colonel Jolin Seguin, mayor of 
San Antonio, and buried with military honors. The 
number of the dead cannot be known with absolute 
accuracy. It was probably in the neighborhood of 
180, of whom the names of 166 are known. Several 
couriers had been sent out during the siege, all of 
whom did not return. Captain J. W. Smith, of the 
Gonzales party, escaped with Travis's message of 
March 3, and it is possible that there were other mes- 
sengers, who were cut off by the Mexican cavalry. 
All the garrison were Americans except three Mexi- 
cans who had joined them from the town. 

The loss of the Mexicans in the assault has never 
been ascertained. Santa Anna, in his official report, 
said that there were only 70 killed and 300 wounded. 
Bu^ this was obviously an outrageous lie, as he also 
said that the Texans numbered 400, and that the 
attacking party consisted of only 1400. Various 
estimates give the loss of the Mexicans at between 
300 and 500 killed, or who afterward died of their 
wounds. Dr. Bernard, who was taken prisoner at 
Goliad, and sent to attend the sick at San Antonio, 
said that the Mexican surgeons told him that over 
400 wounded soldiers were brought into the hospitals 
after the assault. Sergeant Bercero, one of the at- 
tacking party, in giving his reminiscence of the as- 
sault, said : " There was an order to gather our dead 
and wounded. It was a painful sight. Our lifeless 
soldiers covered the ground surrounding the Alamo. 



FALL OF THE ALAMO 153 

They were heaped inside the fortress. Blood and 
brains covered the earth and floor, and were spattered 
on the walls. The killed were generally struck on 
the head. The wounds were generally in the neck or 
shoulders, seldom below that." 

The defense of the Alamo was a mistake in stra- 
tegic warfare. It was impossible that the small gar- 
rison could successfully defend the post against the 
overwhelming force of Santa Anna's army. The 
defenders undoubtedly knew it. It is said that 
Travis drew them together, and addressed them in 
terms that could have left no doubt in their minds ; 
but whether that was so or not, they were aware that 
there was very little chance of their receiving succor 
from the Texan army. They could have made their 
escape, even after the investment of the Alamo, as 
easily as the party from Gonzales made their way 
into the fort. They could have found refuge in the 
timber of the streams, and with their skill in wood- 
craft have made their way safely south to the forces 
under Fannin at Goliad, or east to the settlements of 
the colonists. Their determination to remain was 
the impulse of their invincible courage, the strong 
vigor of their cool and desperate natures. They 
were ready to die in their tracks sooner than give way 
before an enemy they hated and despised, and they 
counted on the fight as only one of the many desper- 
ate chances of their lives. The lesson of the cost of 
taking the Alamo, and overwhelming its handful of 
defenders, would have warned Santa Anna, if he had 



154 SAM HOUSTON 

boon loss headstrong and vainglorions, that the task 
of snbdning the Texan colonists was an impossible 
one. l>ut with its capture he seemed to think that 
the oonqiiest of Texas was already accomplished. He 
sent oft' bombastic dispatches to the anthorities in the 
city of Mexico, and, after giving orders to his snbor- 
dinates to complete the campaign, made preparations 
to retnrn. Mrs. Dickenson was fnrnishod with a 
horse, and made the bearer of a proclamation to the 
colonists, annonncing the captnre of the Alamo, and 
calling npon them to snbmit to the ^lexicaii anthor- 
ity. She crossed the prairies alone, with her child in 
her arms, nntil she reached the Salado Creek, where 
she came upon the negro servant of Travis, who had 
made his escape from the Mexicans, hiding in the 
woods. They made their way together to Gonzales. 

A change had t:\lven place in the minds of the lead- 
ing men in Texas in regard to the policy of a total 
separation from Mexico. It was discovered that the 
Liberal party in Mexico was utterly powerless, and 
that the people, almost without exception, were hos- 
tile to the American colonists, and wished them sub- 
dued. As early as January 7 Houston wrote to 
^lajor eTolm Forbes, saying, ''I now feel confident that 
no further experiment need be made to con^dnce us 
that there is but one course left for Texas to pursue, 
and that is an unequivocal declaration of indepen- 
dence, and the formation of a constitution to be sub- 
mitted to the people for their rejection or ratifica- 
tion." Austin wrote a letter from New Orleans, 



CREATION OF THE REPUBLIC 155 

which was published in the newspaper, stating that 
when he left the country he considered it premature 
to stir the question of independence, but the news 
from Vera Cruz and Tampico was that the Liberal 
party had united with Santa Anna to put down the 
Texans. Public opinion in the United States was 
strongly in favor of a declaration of independence by 
Texas, and he could not have obtained the loan with- 
out the belief that the Convention would take such a 
course. Whatever difference of opinion there might 
have been as to the time for such action he hoped 
there would be none now. The colonists were thor- 
oughly disgusted with the quarrels of the Governor 
and Council, and anxious to have a new and more 
rigorous government. It is likely that the majority 
of them would have been ready at any time to throw 
off the Mexican authority, and separate from a coun- 
try with which they had no natural affiliation, and 
whose government they tolerated only so long as it 
left them practically alone. 

The General Convention called by the Council met 
at Washington, March 1, 1835. Fifty-eight dele- 
gates were present. Richard Ellis, of the Red River 
district, was elected president, and H. S. Kimble 
secretary. On the following day the declaration of 
independence was adopted. In its preamble it set 
forth the grievances of the people of Texas. It de- 
clared that the Federative Republic of Mexico had 
been changed without their consent to a consolidated 
military despotism, in which every interest was dis- 



156 SAM HOUSTON 

regarded except that of the army and priesthood; 
that their agents bearing petitions had been thrown 
into dungeons; that the Mexican government had 
failed to maintain the right of trial by jury; denied 
the right of worshiping the Almighty according to 
the dictates of conscience; had made piratical attacks 
upon the Texan commerce; commanded the colonists 
to deliver up their arms necessary for their defense 
against the savages; had invaded their territory by 
sea and land; and had incited the merciless savages 
to massacre the defenseless inhabitants of the fron- 
tiers. It concluded : — 

"These and other grievances were patiently borne 
by the people of Texas until they reached the point 
at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We then 
took up arms in defense of the National Constitution. 
We appealed to our Mexican brethren for assistance; 
our appeal has been made in vain; although months 
have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been 
heard from the interior. We are therefore forced 
to the melancholy conclusion that the Mexican people 
have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, 
and the substitution therefor of a military govern- 
ment ; that they are unfit to be free and incapable of 
self-government. 

"The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now 
decrees our eternal political separation. 

"We, therefore, the delegates, with plenary pow- 
ers, of the people of Texas, in solemn Convention 
assembled, appealing to a candid world for the neces- 



CREATION OF THE REPUBLIC 157 

sities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare 
that our political connection with the Mexican nation 
has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do 
now constitute a free, sovereign, and independent 
Eepublic, and are fully invested with all the rights 
and attributes which properly belong to independent 
nations ; and, conscious of the rectitude of our inten- 
tions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue 
to the Supreme Arbiter of the destinies of nations." 

On the 4th of March, Sam Houston was unani- 
mously reelected commander-in-chief with authority 
over all the forces, regulars and volunteers. Ordi- 
nances were adopted for the reorganization of the 
army, and for the enrollment of all citizens between 
the ages of seventeen and fifty to be subject to drafts. 
Increased bounties of land were offered to volunteers : 
1280 acres for those already enlisted, who should 
serve during the war, 640 acres for six months' ser- 
vice, and 320 acres for three months; 960 acres were 
offered for the new recruits who should serve during 
the war. 

There was great excitement over the news of the 
beleaguerment of the Alamo. On March^ 2 Houston 
issued the following appeal to the people of Texas : — 

Convention Hall, March 2, 1836. 

War is raging on the frontiers. Bexar is besieged 

by two thousand of the enemy under the command of 

General Sesma. Reinforcements are on their march 

to unite with the besieging army. By the last report 



158 SAAI HOUSTON 

our force at Bexar was only one hundred and fifty 
men. The citizens of Texas must rally to the aid of 
our army or it will perish. Let the citizens of the 
East march to the combat. The enemy must be 
driven from our soil or desolation will accompany 
their march upon us. Independence is declared. It 
must be maintained. Immediate action, united with 
valor, can alone achieve our great work. The ser- 
vices of all are forthwith required in the field. 

Sam Houston, 
Oommander-in- Chief of the Army, 

P. S. It is rumored that the enemy are on their 
march to Gonzales, and that they have entered the 
colonies. The fate of Bexar is unknown. The coun- 
try must and shall be defended. The patriots of 
Texas are appealed to in hehalf of their bleeding 
country, 

A hundred or so of men were gathered about 
Washington, but there was no organization, and no 
attempt to march to the relief of the Alamo. On 
Sunday, March 6, the day of the fall of the Alamo, 
the letter of Colonel Travis making a last appeal for 
aid was handed to the president of the Convention. 
He hastily summoned the members together, and read 
it to them. There was a scene of intense feeling. 
Eobert Potter moved that the Convention adjourn, 
arm, and march for the relief of the Alamo. Hous- 
ton declared the resolution to be folly and treason 
to the people. He urged the Convention to re- 



CREATION OF THE REPUBLIC 159 

main and finisli its work of organizing the govern- 
ment, without which the declaration of independence 
would be a vain fulmination. He promised that no 
enemy should approach them, and announced his in- 
tention to start at once for Gonzales. The Conven- 
tion recovered from its excitement, and within an 
hour Houston was on his way to Gonzales, accom- 
panied only by Colonel George W. Hockley, his 
chief of staff, and one or two others. While on his 
way he dispatched a letter to the Convention advis- 
ing it to declare Texas a part of Louisiana under the 
treaty of 1803, and therefore belonging to the United 
States. The advice was not adopted, and it is not 
likely that it would have made any difference in the 
action of the United States, as that country had 
abandoned any such claim from Mexico. 

The Convention continued its work, and adopted 
a series of ordinances for the formation of a provi- 
sional government. David G. Burnet was elected 
President, and Lorenzo D. Zavala Vice-President. 
Samuel P. Carson was appointed Secretary of State, 
Baily Hardiman, Secretary of the Treasury, Thomas 
J. Kusk, Secretary of War, Eobert Potter, Secretary 
of the Navy, and David Thomas, Attorney-General. 
The government was authorized to contract for a 
loan of 11,000,000, to enter into treaties with foreign 
nations, and to decide upon the time for the election 
of permanent officers. The President issued a fervent 
appeal for sympathy and aid to the people of the 
United States. On the 16th, the Constitution of the 



160 SAM HOUSTON 

Republic of Texas was adopted, and signed the fol- 
lowing day. It provided for tlie establishment of an 
Executive, a Legislature to consist of two bodies, 
Senate and House of Representatives, and a Judi- 
ciary to be governed by the common law of England. 
Slavery was established, and owners were forbidden 
to manumit their slaves without the consent of Con- 
gress. Free negroes were forbidden to reside in the 
territory. The importation of slaves, except from 
the United States, was punishable as piracy. The 
head rights of settlers were fixed at one league and 
a labor for each head of a family, and one third of a 
league to each single man of seventeen years of age 
or upwards, but the location of grants was suspended 
until the men serving in the army could have an 
equal choice. Freedom and equality for all forms of 
religious belief were decreed; the rights of trial by 
jury and writ of habeas corpus, except in cases of 
treason, and the freedom of the press were estab- 
lished. No man was to be imprisoned for debt, and 
titles of nobility and monopolies were forbidden. 
The Constitution was signed by fifty members, three 
of whom were Mexicans, and the Convention ad- 
journed on the 17th. The provisional government 
at once removed its headquarters to Harrisburg on 
the Buffalo Bayou. 



CHAPTER X 

THE MASSACEE OF GOLIAD 

Travis's morning and evening guns had ceased to 
send their signals over the prairie to the ears of the 
listening scouts from Gonzales five days before Hous- 
ton's arrival, and on the 11th of March, when he 
reached the town, definite news of the fall of the 
Alamo had been received from the mouth of Antonio 
Borgaro, a Mexican from San Antonio. Houston 
instantly sent off a swift dispatch with the news to 
Colonel Fannin at Goliad, with orders to blow up the 
fort and evacuate the place. He was directed to 
bring away as many pieces of artillery as he could, 
and sink the rest in the river. He was to march to 
Victoria on the Guadalupe River, intrench himself, 
and await further orders. Every facility was to be 
afforded to the women and children who wished to 
leave the place. Prompt action was urged, as the 
enemy were reported to be advancing, and there was 
likely to be a rise in the waters. On the 13th, Mrs. 
Dickenson reached Gonzales, and brought a confirma- 
tion of the news of the capture of the Alamo, and the 
slaughter of its defenders. There was a scene of 
wild grief and panic in the little town. The larger 
portion of its male citizens had formed the party 



162 SAM HOUSTON 

which had joined the defenders of the Alamo, and 
perished with them. Twenty women were made 
widows by the slaughter, and almost every family 
had lost one of its members. There were rumors 
that the Mexican troops had reached the Cibolo Creek 
on their way to Gonzales, and preparations were 
made for immediate flight. Those who had wagons 
loaded them with such things as they could carry, 
and women mounted on horseback with their children 
in their arms for a wild flight across the prairie. 
One woman, who had lost her husband in the Alamo, 
rushed frantically about the streets with disheveled 
hair, screaming for the Mexicans to come and kill 
her and her children. Houston exerted himself to 
calm the violence, and bring some order out of the 
panic. When Houston reached Gonzales he found 
about 800 militia men gathered there without organi- 
zation, and about a hundred more had come in since. 
It was useless to attempt to resist the advance of 
Santa Anna with any such force, and Houston deter- 
mined to fall back to the line of the Colorado, and 
await the junction of the troops under Fannin. That 
night the troops were gathered together and, escorting 
the wagons containing the women and children, set 
out on the forlorn march over the wet prairie. Two 
small cannon were thrown into the river for the want 
of means to bring them away, and a single wagon, 
drawn by four feeble oxen, contained all the muni- 
tions and supplies of the army. After leaving the 
town it was set on fire, and as the band struggled on 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 163 

in the darkness their backward glances could see the 
lights of their blazing homes on the horizon. Deaf 
Smith and Henry Karnes were left behind as scouts 
to watch for the approach of the Mexicans. The next 
day, at Peach Creek, fifteen miles from Gonzales, a 
party of 125 volunteers was met, twenty-five of whom 
left on hearing the news of the fall of the Alamo. 
Thirty -five more joined them during the day, making 
the number remaining with the force 474. When the 
party reached Nevada Creek, fifteen miles from the 
Colorado, Houston learned that a blind widow with 
six children had been ignorantly left at a house some 
distance from the road. He sent a party back to 
bring them in, and delayed his march until they ar- 
rived. He sent Major William T. Austin, his aid- 
de-camp, to the mouth of the Brazos for six cannon 
which were supposed to be there, and pushed on to 
the Colorado, which he reached on the 17th. He 
made his camp on the west bank of the river at a 
place known as Burnham's Crossing, and awaited the 
news from Fannin. 

While Santa Anna had been advancing upon San 
Antonio, General Urrea, with his escort of cavalry, 
had proceeded to Mat amor as, and taken command of 
the troops there for an advance to the north. He 
left Matamoras on February 18 with a force of be- 
tween 900 and 1000 men, and reached San Patricio 
on the 27th. He immediately asaulted the barracks 
in a storm of rain. The garrison of forty men, under 
Captain Peirce, made a desperate resistance, but the 



164 SAM HOUSTON 

building was taken. The prisoners, to the number 
of twenty -four, were shot by order of General Urrea. 
Colonel Johnson and three companions, who were in 
a house in the town, made their escape through the 
back door, and found their way to Kefugio. Dr. 
Grant and a party of forty men were out on a 
horse-raiding expedition toward the Eio Grande. 
They had previously captured Captain Rodriguez and 
sixty-six Mexicans with a caballada of horses. The 
party was released under parole, but broke their 
parole, and joined the forces under Urrea. After 
the capture of San Patricio, Urrea set out in pursuit 
of Grant. He discovered Grant's party on the 2d 
of March near the Aqua Dulce, returning with a 
herd of captured horses. He set an ambush, and the 
Mexicans charged upon Grant's party from two belts 
of timber through which they were passing. The 
greater portion of Grant's men were killed in the 
charge. But he and a man named Reuben R. Brown 
fled across the prairie. They were pursued, and, 
after a desperate race of seven miles, Grant was 
killed by a lance thrust. Brown was lassoed from 
his horse, and made a prisoner. 

When Fannin received Houston's dispatch order- 
ing him to abandon Goliad and fall back upon Vic- 
toria, he was in command of about 500 men. They 
consisted almost entirely of volunteers from the 
United States. Fannin, in his letter to the Council, 
had complained that there were less than half a dozen 
Texans in his ranks. They were divided into two 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 165 

battalions, known as the "Georgia" and the "La 
Fayette." The first consisted of "Ward's, Wads- 
worth's, and Tucker's companies from Alabama and 
Georgia. The second included the New Orleans 
"Grays," Captain Pettes; the "Mustangs" of Ken- 
tucky, Captain Duval ; the Mobile "Grays," Captain 
McManeman; a company from Louisville and Hunts- 
ville, Tennessee, Captain Bradford; Captain King's 
company from Georgia; and the "Red Rovers" of 
Alabama, Captain Shackleford. There was also a 
small squadron of cavalry under Captain Horton, and 
a detachment of artillery under Captain Westover. 
Colonel Fannin had built an earthwork around the 
old Mission church, which he called Fort Defiance, 
and prepared to defend the place. Learning of the 
advance of Urrea he sent an order to the garrison of 
San Patricio to join him, but had been disobeyed. 
He then sent Captain King with twenty-eight men to 
bring in the families from Refugio. Captain King 
arrived at Refugio on the 12th of March. Before he 
could remove the families he was attacked by the ad- 
vance guard of Urrea's cavalry, and took refuge in 
the old stone church of the Mission. He dispatched 
a message to Colonel Fannin for assistance, and Fan- 
nin sent Lieutenant-Colonel Ward with 120 men. 
King defended the church until the arrival of Ward 
on the evening of the 13th, and preparations were 
made for a retreat the next day. But in the morn- 
ing Urrea arrived with the main body of his force. 
On the news of his approach. Captain King was sent 



166 SAM HOUSTON 

out with a party of thirteen men to reconnoitre, and 
was attacked by a strong force of cavalry. Ward 
sallied out to his assistance, but was beaten back, 
and compelled to retreat to the church. Captain 
King was cut off, and compelled to surrender. He 
and his men were tied to post oak-trees and shot. 
Their bodies were left unburied, and their skeletons 
were afterward found fastened to the trees. Ward 
and his party were besieged in the Mission church. 
The building was in ruins, but its walls were strong. 
Urrea brought up a four-pounder to batter in the 
door, and attempted to take the church by assault. 
The attack was repulsed by the deadly fire of the 
rifles, and in the evening the enemy withdrew to their 
camp, leaving pickets around the building. The 
Texans, finding their ammunition nearly exhausted, 
determined to escape during the night. There was 
the painful necessity of leaving behind three of the 
comrades who had been disabled during the fight. 
They filled the canteens of the wounded with water, 
and left them to the mercy of the Mexicans, who 
afterward butchered them. The party broke through 
the patrol guard, and started to find their way to 
Victoria, where they expected to meet Fannin. They 
took a circuitous route through swamps and forests, 
so as to avoid the pursuit of the enemy's cavalry, and 
reached Victoria on the 20th. They found Victoria 
in possession of the enemy, and were attacked by a 
force of cavalry. They retreated into the swamps of 
the Guadalupe, where they spent the night. In the 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 167 

morning, having not a single round of ammunition 
left, they surrendered, and were marched back as 
prisoners to Goliad. 

Fannin waited six days for the return of Ward and 
King, sending off courier after courier in a vain at- 
tempt to obtain news. On the 18th he received 
definite news that the church was taken, and that 
Ward had retreated in the direction of Victoria. A 
scouting party of cavalry was sent out under Captain 
Horton, who reported that a large force was ad- 
vancing slowly from the direction of San Antonio. 
Some skirmishing took place during the day with ad- 
vance parties of Urrea's cavalry. In the evening a 
consultation of the officers was held, and it was de- 
cided to retreat the next day. The heavy pieces of 
cannon were buried, the fort was dismantled, and the 
provisions and supplies, which could not be taken 
with the force, destroyed. The force set out on its 
march toward Victoria on the morning of the 19th. 
It numbered about 350 men, and had nine fieldpieces 
and a howitzer, and a number of wagons drawn by 
oxen. The morning was extremely thick and foggy, 
and it took until ten o'clock to get the train across 
the San Antonio River. The march was begun across 
an open prairie, skirted with belts of timber, toward 
the Coleto Creek, about ten miles from the town. 
Not a Mexican had been seen, except a couple of 
mounted videttes, and when within about three miles 
of the sheltering timber of the Coleto, Fannin or- 
dered a halt at a place where the grass had sprung up 



168 SAM HOUSTON 

green after being burned over, to allow his cattle to 
graze. It was a fatal error. Fannin was remon- 
strated witli by some of bis officers, and urged to 
push on to the timber. But he appears to have held 
the Mexicans in contempt, and imagined that they 
would not dare to molest him. 

After a halt of about an hour and a half, and just 
as the order had been given to hitch up the teams to 
resume the march, a dark line of cavalry was seen 
coming from a skirt of timber to the right of the 
Texan force, and about two miles distant. They ad- 
vanced at a gallop, and formed in a mass between 
the Texans and the Coleto. A large body of infantry 
followed the cavalry, and took a position in the rear, 
rapidly advancing lines on both sides. The Texans 
were caught in a trap. The train had been halted in 
a depression of the prairie six or seven feet below the 
general surface, and in an attempt to reach an emi- 
nence an ammunition wagon broke down. The lines 
were then drawn in a hollow square, three ranks 
deep. The wagons were pushed in the centre, and 
the artillery stationed at the corners. After the 
Mexican forces had been posted so as to surround the 
Texans, their cavalry advanced and opened a harm- 
less fire with their escopetos. Fannin ordered his 
men to lie down, and not to fire until the enemy came 
within certain range. When they did so, the Texan 
rifles emptied the foremost saddles, and drove them 
back. Captain Horton, who had been sent forward 
with the cavalry to examine the crossing over the 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 169 

Coleto, hearing the firing, galloped back to rejoin the 
main body. But his party was attacked by the cav- 
alry, and compelled to take flight through the woods 
toward the settlements. The enemy appeared at two 
o'clock, and at three, having made all his disposi- 
tions, Urrea ordered a general charge upon the lines 
from the two sides and the rear. They were received 
with a withering fire from the artillery and the rifles, 
each Texan being supplied with two or three loaded * 
guns, and firing with great coolness and precision. 
The Mexicans came on with great impetuosity, until 
their front ranks were almost at the bayonet push. 
The Texan fire, however, was so rapid and deadly 
that they were compelled to fall back. The infan- 
try were ordered to lie down within range, and fire 
from that position, but were picked off by the Texans 
whenever they raised their heads, and were com- 
pelled to withdraw. Urrea endeavored to break the 
Texan lines by a cavalry charge led by himself, but 
it was broken by a discharge of grapeshot from the 
howitzer and a volley from the rifles. For the third 
time the assault was made, the officers pricking on 
the men from behind with their swords. The in- 
fantry were driven up close, but the cavalry broke 
when scarcely within range. The plain was strewn 
with the bodies of men and horses, and riderless 
horses charged through the lines of infantry, throw- 
ing them into still greater confusion, "until their 
retreat resembled the headlong flight of a herd of 
buffaloes." The Mexican troops were finally rallied, 



170 SAM HOUSTON 

and drawn up around the Texan lines out of range. 
Colonel Fannin was severely wounded in the thigh 
in the early part of the engagement, but continued 
to command with great coolness and courage. The 
Texan cannon were useless after a few discharges, 
from becoming heated and clogged, there being no 
water with which to sponge them. 

After the assault had been given up the cavalry 
were drawn around the lines in open order. They 
kept up a harmless fire with their muskets and es- 
co^jetos, to which the Texans responded with more 
deadly effect. There were about a hundred Campea- 
chy Indians with the Mexican forces. They crept 
up around the Texan lines, taking advantage of every 
hillock and tuft of thick grass, and opened a much 
more deadly and accurate fire upon the besieged 
force, killing and wounding a number of the Texans. 
Four of them crept up to within a hundred yards, 
and were firing with deadly effect, when Captain 
Duval, an excellent marksman, undertook to dislodge 
them. Taking a position behind a gun carriage he 
fired every time an Indian showed his head, and 
silenced them in four shots. As he fired his last shot 
the forefiifger of his right hand was taken off by a 
rifle ball. After the battle the four Indians were 
found where they fell, each with a hole in his head. 
During the fighting one of the wounded was Harry 
Ripley, a youth of eighteen or nineteen, the son of 
General Ripley, of Louisiana. He had his thigh 
broken shortly after the Indians took to the grass. 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 171 

He asked Mrs. Cash, a lady of Goliad, who had 
accompanied the retreat, to help him into her cart. 
She fixed a prop for him to lean against, and a rest 
for his rifle. He was seen to bring down four Mex- 
icans before he received another wound, which broke 
his right arm. He said to Mrs. Cash, "You may 
take me down, now, mother. I have done my share. 
They have paid exactly two for one on account of the 
balls in me." The Indian firing began at dusk, but 
as soon as the darkness rendered the flashes of the 
guns more plainly visible, the Texan rifles were in- 
stantaneously aimed at the spots, and soon put an 
end to the discharges. Urrea drew off his troops, and 
surrounded the Texan lines, his camp fires gleaming 
redly in the darkness, and his guards keeping up a 
continual cry of ^'' Sentinela alerte.^'' 

The night was one of extreme darkness and a heavy 
fog. Colonel Fannin addressed the men, saying that 
the only chance of escape was by a retreat during the 
night to the timber of the Cole to. He said that there 
was no doubt of their ability to do so, as the enemy 
was much demoralized by the failure of their attacks, 
but in the morning it would be too late, as the Mex- 
icans would undoubtedly receive reinforcements. If 
the majority of the men were in favor of the attempt 
it should be made. But this would have necessitated 
the abandonment of the wounded. There were sixty 
of the men who had been hit, about forty of whom 
were disabled. The men refused to abandon their 
wounded comrades to the mercy of the Mexicans, and 



172 SAM HOUSTON . 

it was decided to remain. The lines were contracted 
to tlie centre from the original area in which they had 
fought the battle, and the night was spent by the 
Texans in throwing up an earthen breastwork, which 
was still further barricaded by the wagons and the 
dead bodies of the oxen killed during the afternoon's 
fight. It was so dark that the surgeons were unable 
to attend to the wounded, who suffered intensely from 
thirst. By an oversight the provisions had been left 
behind, and the night wore away for the besieged 
without food, or drink, or sleep. During the night 
three men deserted, and attempted to reach the tim- 
ber of the Coleto. But the re23orts from the muskets 
of the Mexican patrols showed that they had been 
intercepted and killed. 

In the early morning, before it was fairly light, 
reinforcements of 300 or 400 men were seen coming 
to the enemy. They had with them two pieces of 
artillery, and a hundred pack mules laden with 
ammunition and supplies. The pieces were soon 
trained, and the Mexicans opened fire with grape 
and canister, shattering the wagons and ploughing 
through the camp. The position of the Texans was 
untenable. Their cannon were useless, and there 
were but two or three rounds of ammunition left for 
the small arms. A consultation of the officers was 
hastily called, and the question was discussed of a 
surrender. Fannin opposed it, saying, "We whipped 
them off yesterday, and can do it again to-day." 
But the majority were in favor of a surrender, if hon- 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 173 

orable and safe terms of capitulation could be ob- 
tained. Tbe question was submitted to the men by 
the commanders of the companies, and they agreed 
that it was impossible to attempt to resist any longer. 
The white flag was hoisted, and responded to by the 
enemy. Colonel Fannin and Major Wallace, accom- 
panied by Captain Durangue, as interpreter, went 
out from the encampment. They were met halfway 
between the lines by Colonel Salas, Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Holzinger, and Lieutenant Gonzales, the officers 
sent by Urrea. After a conference the Texan officers 
returned, and announced that articles had been agreed 
on by which the besieged should surrender as prison- 
ers of war, and be treated according to the usages of 
civilized nations. The wounded were to be taken 
back to Goliad and properly cared for. Private 
property was to be respected. Dr. Joseph H. Ber- 
nard, one of the surgeons, said that he saw what he 
supposed to be the articles signed by Colonel Fannin, 
and delivered to a Mexican officer, and believed that 
each commander had a duplicate. It was rumored 
about the camp that it was agreed that the men 
should be sent to New Orleans at the first opportu- 
nity, under parole not to serve any more during the 
war in Texas. This was confirmed by the saying of 
Lieutenant-Colonel Holzinger, the Mexican officer 
appointed to receive the surrendered arms. As they 
were delivered up he said, "Well, gentlemen, in ten 
days liberty and home." The officers' arms were 
received separately, nailed up in a box, and put on 



174 SAM HOUSTON 

one side, with the assurance that they should be de- 
livered to them on their release. 

The loss of the Texans in the battle, called by the 
Mexicans "Encinal del Perdido," was seven killed 
and sixty wounded, of whom some died before the 
removal of the prisoners. The loss of the Mexicans 
is not known with any accuracy. General Urrea 
reported only eleven killed and fifty-four wounded, 
which was a manifest absurdity. Dr. Bernard says 
that he assisted in attending over a hundred of the 
wounded Mexicans. The total Mexican loss in killed 
and wounded can hardly have been less than between 
200 and 300. The most reasonable estimate of the 
number of Urrea' s troops on the morning of the sur- 
render is that of about 1200. 

The prisoners were put under a strong guard of 
cavalry, marched back to Goliad, and confined in the 
old church. The wounded were brought in carts the 
next day, and placed in the barracks' hospital. The 
church, which was of limestone, gloomy and vaulted, 
was not large enough to comfortably contain the pris- 
oners. They were huddled together, and given as 
rations only four ounces of fresh beef, which they 
were obliged to cook as they could. Hospital dress- 
ings and surgical instruments were wanting for the 
wounded, and the surgeons complained to Colonel 
Fannin, who addressed a note to General Urrea call- 
ing attention to the terms of the capitulation in re- 
gard to the treatment of the wounded. Urrea set out 
in pursuit of Ward's party, and they were brought 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 175 

in prisoners a few days afterward. He also dis- 
patched a force to Copano, who returned with Major 
Miller and eighty-two volunteers from Nashville. 
They were captured by Colonel Vara immediately 
upon landing, and surrendered without resistance. 
They arrived on the 25th, and were confined in the 
church, being distinguished from the rest of the pris- 
oners by pieces of white cloth tied around their 
arms. 

Meantime the news had reached Santa Anna at 
San Antonio of the capture of Fannin and his force. 
He instantly dispatched an order to Lieutenant -Colo- 
nel Portilla, the commandant of Goliad, to have the 
prisoners all shot. The Mexican Congress the pre- 
vious year had passed a law that all foreigners mak- 
ing an armed invasion of the country should be dealt 
with as pirates. 

Colonel Portilla received the order for the execu- 
tion of the prisoners on Saturday evening, the 26th. 
On that same evening Colonel Fannin and Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Holzinger returned from Copano, where 
they had been to see if a vessel could be obtained to 
take the men to New Orleans ; but they could find 
none in the harbor. Colonel Fannin was very cheer- 
ful, and spoke of his wife and child, whom he ex- 
pected soon to see. The prisoners were encouraged 
by the apparent purpose of the Mexicans to send 
them home, and spent the evening in singing, one of 
the men who had retained his flute playing "Home, 
Sweet Home." Portilla was much agitated and dis- 



176 SAM HOUSTON 

tressed by the receipt of tlie order from Santa Anna, 
and the news soon spread among the Mexican officers, 
causing horror and indignation among the more 
humane. Urrea was absent in the direction of Vic- 
toria, and the news did not reach him until after the 
execution had taken place. 

In the early morning of Palm Sunday the prison- 
ers were awakened and formed into three divisions. 
One was led out on the road to San Antonio, one on 
the road to San Patricio, and the third on the road to 
Copano. One party was informed by the Mexican 
officers that it was marching to be sent home, another 
that it was being taken out to kill beeves, and the 
third that the church was required for Santa Anna's 
advancing troops. As they passed through the town 
the Mexican women, gazing at them from the doors 
of the houses, exclaimed, ''^ Pohrecitos ! ^^ (poor fel- 
lows) but the exclamation aroused no suspicion. 
They were marched in double file with Mexican sol- 
diers on each side of them, and cavalry squads in the 
rear. When about half a mile from the town, in dif- 
ferent directions, the divisions were halted, and one 
line of the Mexican soldiers passed around to the 
other side. There was hardly time for the exclama- 
tion, "Boys, they are going to kill us!" when the 
order was given to fire, and the volleys were poured 
in at close range. The lines of prisoners fell in 
heaps. Some few, who were unwounded, struggled 
to their feet, and dashed toward the timber out upon 
the prairie, pursued by the cavalry, and shot at as 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 111 

they ran. The guards stabbed the wounded to death 
with their bayonets. Many of the fugitives were 
shot down, or stabbed with lances, and some of those 
who reached a temporary shelter in the river timber 
were afterward intercepted and killed by the cavalry 
pickets. Twenty-seven finally escaped by reaching 
the woods and swimming the river. They made their 
way by long and painful journeys over the prairies, 
hiding by day and moving on by night, and, after 
incredible sufferings and perilous adventures, reached 
places of safety in the settlements, or joined the 
Texan army in its advance after the battle of San 
Jacinto. 

Before daylight in the morning, Dr. Bernard and 
Dr. Shackleford, who was a surgeon as well as cap- 
tain of the "Eed Eovers," were aroused by Colonel 
Garay with a serious and grave countenance, and 
directed to go to his headquarters, which were in a 
peach orchard, two or three hundred yards from the 
church. They found that Captain Miller's company 
had also been ordered there, and followed them on, 
supposing that their services were required for some 
wounded. Drs. Bernard and Shackleford were called 
inside of Colonel Garay 's tent, where they found two 
men lying completely covered up with blankets, so 
that they could not see their faces, and whom they 
supposed to be the patients they were called to attend. 
While waiting a lad named Martinez came in, and 
addressed them in English. They chatted for some 
time, but, becoming impatient at the non-appearance 



178 SAM HOUSTON 

of Colonel Garay, tliey were about to return to tlie 
church, when Martinez told them that the directions 
for them to remain were positive. Just then they 
were startled by a volley of firearms from the direc- 
tion of the fort, and Dr. Shackleford exclaimed, 
"What's that?" Martinez replied that it was the 
soldiers discharging their guns for the purpose of 
cleaning them. But yells and cries were heard, 
which were recognized as being the voices of Ameri- 
cans, and through the openings in the trees some pris- 
oners were seen running at their utmost speed with 
Mexican soldiers in pursuit of them. Colonel Garay 
then entered the tent with a distressed countenance, 
and said, "Keep still, gentlemen, you are perfectly 
safe. This is not from my orders, nor do I execute 
them." He then told them of the orders which had 
been received from Santa Anna to shoot the prison- 
ers, and that he had taken upon himself the responsi- 
bility of saving the surgeons, and the others, who had 
been taken without arms in their hands. The men 
under the blankets were two who had been employed 
by Colonel Garay as carpenters, and whom he had 
resolved to save. In the course of five or ten min- 
utes as many as Rve distinct volleys were heard in 
the tent, and occasional shots followed for more than 
an hour. Dr. Shackleford had recruited the "Eed 
Rovers " from among his friends and neighbors in 
Alabama, and his eldest son and two of his nephews 
were in their ranks. Senora Alvarez, the wife of 
one of Urrea's officers, having been informed of the 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 179 

approacliing massacre, withdrew a few of the Texan 
officers during the night, and concealed them in her 
house until the slaughter was over. They joined 
Miller's men, and were released after the retreat of 
the Mexicans from San Jacinto. 

Fannin and Ward were not shot with the rest of 
the prisoners, but taken out later. Fannin received 
the order for his execution with a calm countenance. 
He handed his watch to the officer commanding the 
firing party, with the request that it be sent to his 
family. He asked that he be not shot in the head, 
and that he should be decently buried. It is said 
that he was shot in the head, and at any rate his 
body was thrown in the heap with the rest of the 
prisoners. Ward refused to kneel at the word of 
command, and was shot while denouncing the Mexi- 
cans as cold-blooded murderers. Fannin was a na- 
tive of Georgia, and had come to Texas in 1834. 
At the outbreak of the revolution he had enlisted a 
company called the "Brazos Volunteers," and joined 
Austin's army. He had sided with the Council in 
the difficulties between it and Governor Smith, but 
the charge that he refused to obey the orders of Gen- 
eral Houston to retreat from Goliad is an error. But 
his delays in executing them promptly were as fatal 
as disobedience. Ward was a native of Georgia, 
where he had recruited a company at the call of 
Texas for volunteers, and reached the country a few 
months previous to his death. The wounded were 
butchered in their beds in the hospital. Toward 



180 SAM HOUSTON 

evening the bodies were piled in heaps, and some 
brushwood was piled over them and set on fire. It 
was not sufficient to consume them, and the next day 
the vultures were seen feeding on the scorched and 
mangled remains. When the Texan army advanced 
after the battle of San Jacinto to follow General 
Filisola's retiring march, it halted at Goliad, and the 
bones of the victims of the massacre were gathered 
and placed in a grave, at which General Eusk deliv- 
ered a feeling address. The number of men killed 
in the massacre was 820. Twenty had been pre- 
viously killed with Captain King, or butchered in 
the church at Refugio. The massacre was as bun- 
glingly executed as it was cruel, and included all the 
horrors of cowardly treachery and clumsy butchery 
more befitting a band of savages than a discij)lined 
military. The troops departed for the east the next 
day, leaving seventy or eighty men to guard the hos- 
pital. Miller's men were allowed at large on their 
parole. Drs. Bernard and Shackleford were taken to 
San Antonio to attend the Mexican soldiers wounded 
in the assault on the Alamo. 

Some controversy arose as to whether Fannin had 
surrendered under an agreement of capitulation or at 
discretion. The copy of the agreement, if there was 
one, was never found, and General Urrea declared 
that the surrender was without conditions. The pre- 
sumptive evidence, however, is strongly in favor of a 
capitulation. Fannin and his men were well aware 
of the cruelty of the Mexicans, and would have pre- 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 181 

f erred to have died fighting rather than to have trusted 
to their mercy, without some definite guarantee that 
they would be treated as prisoners of war. All the 
circumstances go to show that they laid down their 
arms upon such a pledge. There is nothing in the 
character of Urrea to vindicate him from the charge 
of the falsehood and treachery too common among his 
military associates, and his previous butchery of Cap- 
tain King's men and the garrison at San Patricio 
showed that he was ready to carry out the orders for 
treating the invaders from the United States as 
pirates. There is a further presumption that there 
was a capitulation in the fact that he sent Fannin and 
his men to Goliad, instead of executing them on the 
spot. There is reason to believe that Urrea informed 
Santa Anna that Fannin had surrendered upon 
terms, although the latter denied it when a prisoner 
at San Jacinto, for the order to shoot the prisoners 
was sent not to Urrea, but to Colonel Portilla. The 
odium of the butchery rests entirely upon Santa 
Anna. He was responsible for the decree of the 
Mexican Congress that invaders should be treated as 
outlaws, for the Congress was entirely his creature. 
He was undoubtedly deeply enraged at the slaughter 
of his troops by the defenders of the Alamo, and per- 
haps counted on striking terror into the Texan colo- 
nists by an example of merciless severity. If so, he 
was mistaken in the character of the men he had to 
deal with. They were simply aroused to a pitch of 
fury by his cruelty, and the cry of "Kemember La 



182 SAM HOUSTON 

BaMa! " nerved the arms tliat struck down liis fleeing 
soldiers at San Jacinto. Like all suck deeds, it was 
a blunder as well as a crime. Wken lie received tke 
information that Miller and his company had been 
spared, he directed the preparation of an order for 
their execution, but Captain Savageiro, the bearer of 
the dispatch from Goliad, manfully remonstrated. 
He was reprimanded by Santa Anna, but the order 
was withdrawn to permit an investigation into the 
circumstances of the capture. To the credit of most 
of the Mexican officers, they were shocked at Santa 
Anna's barbarity, and some of them had the courage 
to express their shame and indignation. 

Santa Anna was confirmed in his belief that the 
war was practically over by the capture of the gar- 
rison of Goliad. He divided his troops into three 
columns to complete the work of occupying the coun- 
try. The first, under General Gaona, was to proceed 
by a northerly route to Nacogdoches. The second, 
under General Sesma, was to advance upon San 
Felipe, and thence by way of Harrisburg to the 
coast at Anahuac. The third, under General Urrea, 
was to sweep the country between Goliad and the 
mouth of the Brazos, and drive out all the colonists 
on the southern border. The orders to these com- 
manders were to shoot all prisoners. He ordered a 
brigade of cavalry, with a portion of the artillery and 
military stores, to be ready to return to San Luis 
Potosi, and prepared to set out for Tampico himself 
by sea from Copano or Matagorda. But upon the 



THE MASSACRE OF GOLIAD 183 

remonstrances of General Filisola and Colonel Al- 
monte, that the Texans were by no means yet sub- 
dued, and tbe receipt of a dispatch from General 
Sesma that a force of 1200 had gathered to dispute 
the passage of the Colorado, Santa Anna changed his 
mind, countermanded the order for the withdrawal of 
the troops to Mexico, and set out with General Fili- 
sola, under an escort of cavalry, to join the column 
under General Sesma. 



CHAPTER XI 

SAN JACINTO 

Houston remained at Burnham's Crossing for two 
days, until all the fugitives and their families had 
been passed over, and then crossed to the east bank 
of the Colorado. He moved down to a place known 
as Beason's Crossing, where he remained until the 
26th. The artillery which he expected did not ar- 
rive, and he complained that his orders for its trans- 
mission from the mouth of the Brazos had been coun- 
termanded by the government. The news of the fall 
of the Alamo and the retreat of Houston, combined 
with the withdrawal of the government to Harrisburg, 
created a thorough panic among the settlers. It was 
one of those alarms which are liable to seize any com- 
munity on the receipt of sudden and terrifying news. 
The deserters from the army spread the panic from 
house to house with wild exaggerations as to the near- 
ness and magnitude of the Mexican forces. Families 
packed their goods into wagons and started in frantic 
haste toward the eastern settlements, and men who 
should have joined the army took the backward in- 
stead of the forward trails. The flight and panic 
which spread through Texas were afterward known 
as "The Runaway Scrape." Nevertheless, the colo- 



SAN JACINTO 185 

nists rallied to some extent to join Houston's army. 
He declared, subsequently, that at no time had he 
over 700 men; but well-informed authorities assert 
that before he fell back from the Colorado his forces 
numbered between 1200 and 1400. His dispatches 
to the government, while urgently calling upon the 
people to rally to his standard, indicated a purpose to 
fight on the line of the Colorado. He said, "Fifteen 
hundred men can defeat all the troops Santa Anna 
can send to the Colorado. Let all the men east of 
the Trinity rush to us. Let all the disposable forces 
of Texas fly to arms. Rouse the Redlanders to bat- 
tle." He reported his men as in fine spirits, under 
good discipline, and eager to engage the enemy. On 
the 19th, Generals Sesma and WoU arrived with a 
Mexican force, estimated at between 500 and 600, and 
took a position on the west bank of the Colorado 
about two miles above Beason's Crossing, under or- 
ders from Santa Anna not to cross the river unless 
the enemy had retired. Houston sent up a small 
force to dispute Sesma 's crossing, and some skirmish- 
ing took place, but the Mexicans made no attempt to 
cross. He sent out spies to ascertain the number of 
Sesma' s forces, and, according to his dispatches, it 
was correctly reported to him. He could have fallen 
upon and destroyed Sesma' s force, but he waited for 
his artillery and for news of the movements of the 
troops under Fannin. 

On the 25th, a fugitive named Peter Kerr arrived 
in camp with the news of the capture of Fannin's 



186 SAM HOUSTON 

force. Houston, afraid of the effect of the news 
upon the spirits of his men, fell into one of his 
feigned rages, declared Kerr to be a traitor and a 
spy, and ordered him to be put under guard for exe- 
cution the next morning. Of course he did not carry 
out his threat. He examined him privately at night, 
and was satisfied of the truth of the report. The 
destruction of Fannin's force left Urrea free either to 
form a junction with Sesma or to pass to Houston's 
rear. It is probable that Houston came to the con- 
clusion, after the news of the defeat of Fannin, that 
an attack upon Sesma would lead to the concentration 
of the entire Mexican army upon the Colorado, which 
he would be unable to meet with a chance of success, 
while a defeat and the destruction of its only army 
would be fatal to the cause of Texas. It would be 
wiser to induce the enemy to divide their forces, and 
scatter through the country, so that they could be 
struck in detail. He made up his mind to fall back 
to the Brazos. He kept his own counsel, and took 
no one into his confidence except Colonel Hockley, 
his chief -of -staff. He began his retreat on the even- 
ing of the 26th, and fell back about five miles on his 
first march. The movement caused great dissatisfac- 
tion and some insubordination among the members of 
his little army. They wanted to fight, and, like all 
» volunteers, could see nothing in a retreat but evi- 
1 deuce of timidity on the part of the commander. It 
^ is the greatest test of the power and personal influ- 
ence of a commander to keep a force of undisciplined 



SAN JACINTO 187 

soldiery together and in heart on a retrograde move- 
ment. Furloughs were given to some to remove their 
families from the country between the Colorado and 
the Brazos, and others departed without leave, so 
that the force was reduced to 750 men. Fiery and 
insubordinate spirits advocated revolt, and even the 
deposition of the commander. But Houston was in- 
defatigable, and never was his power over men more 
thoroughly demonstrated than in keeping the confi- 
dence and control of the lawless, passionate, and 
undisciplined elements that composed his retreating 
force. He was the first in the morning to rally the 
troops and start the wagons, and by jest and good 
humor, by objurgation and appeal, pushed the march 
over every obstacle, and kept the men in hearty spir- 
its. He put his own shoulder to the bemired wheels, 
and his persuasive presence was everywhere up and 
down the line. It was a very trying time for 
Houston. He wrote to Rusk, the Secretary of War, 
after reaching the Brazos : "I hope I can keep them 
together. I have thus far succeeded beyond my 
hopes. I will do the best I can, but be assured the 
fame of Jackson could never compensate me for my 
anxiety and mental pain." The weather was very 
depressing. Continued storms and heavy rains beat 
down upon the unsheltered troops, and tried even 
their seasoned hardihood. The streams were swollen 
beyond their banks, and the prairie, which at that 
season of the year was usually an elastic carpet of 
green grass and blooming flowers, was a dismal and 



188 SAM HOUSTON 

miry morass in which the wagon wheels sank up to 
their hubs. But the line struggled on, sweeping up 
the families along its line of march, and sending out 
scouting parties to bring away the inhabitants of the 
outlying cabins. There were many painful scenes of 
distress and suffering. While the army was crossing 
the Colorado, two women were seen sitting on a log 
near the bank. The husband of one of them had 
been killed at the Alamo, and she was utterly aban- 
doned and destitute. Houston gave her fifty dollars 
out of the two hundred which was all that he had for 
any purpose. It is an evidence of the vigorous char- 
acter of the pioneer settlers, that she afterward wrote 
him that she had invested the money in cattle, and 
had made herself comfortable and independent. The 
army was increased during its march by three com- 
panies of 130 men, who had been brought from the 
mouth of the Brazos by Major John Forbes. It 
reached San Felipe, on the west bank of the Brazos, 
on the 28th. 

From this point Houston determined to march up 
the river. It is difficult to understand why he took 
this course, unless, as he afterward said, he intended 
to fall on the enemy by surprise, when they arrived 
at San Felipe. The movement caused more insubor- 
dination in the ranks of the army. Captain Moreley 
Baker, with his company of 120 men, insisted on re- 
maining to defend the crossing at San Felipe, and 
Captain Wylie Martin, with his, in going below to 
guard the ferry at Fort Bend. These withdrawals 



SAN JACINTO 189 

left Houston with only 520 men. He marclied up 
the river to Mill Creek, and then to Groce's Ferry, 
where he found the steamer Yellowstone, partially 
loaded with cotton. The steamer was seized by his 
order, and held to take the troops across the river if 
necessary. The army was encamped in the Brazos 
bottom. Heavy rains continued to fall, and the en- 
campment was entirely surrounded by water. The 
valley of the Brazos became a running torrent, and 
any scheme to attack the Mexicans on their arrival at 
San Felipe was out of the question. The army re- 
mained at its camp, shelterless and with no food ex- 
cept the beeves they could kill, until April 12. In 
the mean time. President Burnett had issued a pro- 
clamation calling upon the people to rally to the 
army, and endeavored to allay the panic. But a 
universal alarm had seized upon the peoj^le. The 
fugitives from the region west of the Brazos, stream- 
ing across the country, spread the contagion of fear 
from settlement to settlement clear to the border of 
Louisiana. Samuel P. Carson, the Secretary of 
State, wrote from Liberty to President Burnett: 
"Never, until I reached the Trinity, have I de- 
sponded, I will not say despaired. If Houston has 
retreated or been whipped, nothing can save the peo- 
ple from themselves; their own conduct has brought 
this calamity upon them." On the 29th, Captain 
Baker burned the town of San Felipe on the mistaken 
supposition that the enemy were approaching, but it 
proved to be only a herd of cattle. On April 2, 



190 SAM HOUSTON 

Vice-President Zavala joined Houston, and a com- 
pany of eighty men from Eastern Texas also arrived. 
On the 4th, Secretary of War Kusk came to give his 
counsel and assistance. 

General Sesma, having been reinforced by the 
arrival of the troops under General Tolsa so that his 
force amounted to 1400 men, crossed the swollen 
Colorado with great difficulty on rafts. Santa Anna 
did what it was expected he would, and ordered a 
concentration of his columns. Generals Urrea and 
Gaona were ordered to move upon San Eelipe to 
form a junction with Sesma. Santa Anna himself 
hastened forward to take command of Sesma' s col- 
umn. He arrived with escort at San Felipe April 7. 
Finding that Houston had vanished in the woods, he 
countermanded Urrea' s advance, and directed him to 
proceed to Matagorda. In the mean time. General 
Gaona had lost his way in marching from Bastrop, 
and did not arrive at San Felipe until April 17. 
Santa Anna evidently believed that the Texan army 
had fallen back out of his path, and that all he need 
to do to finish the war was to push on and capture 
the members of the government at Harrisburg. He 
was probably also informed of the flight and panic of 
the people. Baker's small force remained to dispute 
the passage at San Felipe, and after some exchange 
of shots across the river, Santa Anna moved with 
a portion of his force down to Fort Bend. All 
the boats had been removed from the west bank of 
the river, but Colonel Almonte, hailing in English a 



SAN JACINTO 191 

negro ferryman on tlie east bank, persuaded him to 
bring over his boat, which was seized. Captain 
Martin's force was kept occupied at the upper ferry 
by a demonstration while the main body of the Mexi- 
cans crossed at the lower. The crossing was effected 
on the 13th, and on the afternoon of the 14th, Santa 
Anna pushed on with a column of about 700 men 
and one cannon, with the hope of surprising Harris- 
burg. He left Sesma with the remainder of the 
troops and the baggage, and announced that he would 
be back in three days. He forced his troops through 
the heavy timber of the Brazos bottom and across the 
miry prairie with impatient energy, and arrived in 
the vicinity of Harrisburg at eleven o'clock on the 
night of the 15th. He entered the town on foot with 
sixteen men, and found it deserted by all except three 
printers in the "Telegraph" office. He made them 
prisoners, and learned that the members of the gov- 
ernment had left that morning for Galveston Island. 
He halted until the afternoon of the next day for the 
stragglers to come in, and, having set fire to the 
buildings of Harrisburg, pushed on for New Wash- 
ington on the border of the bay, where he hoped to 
catch the fugitive members of the government be- 
fore they could make their escape to Galveston. An 
advance guard of cavalry under Colonel Almonte 
nearly captured President Burnett, who had delayed 
to remove his family from his residence in the neigh- 
borhood. He had just pushed off in a small sailing 
vessel as they arrived, and stood exposed to their fire 



192 SAM HOUSTON 

for some minutes, but fortunately escaped unharmed. 
Santa Anna arrived at New Washington on the 18th, 
and sent orders to General Cos, who was with Ses- 
ma's force, to join him by forced marches with 500 
men. He intended to proceed to Anahuac, and from 
thence to Galveston. 

The news that the Mexican advance had reached 
the Brazos was communicated to Houston by his 
scouts. On April 7, he issued an order to the army 
saying that "the moment we have waited for with 
anxiety and interest is fast aj)proaching. The vic- 
tims of the Alamo and the masses of those who were 
murdered at Goliad call for cool, deliberate ven- 
geance. The army will be in condition for action at 
a moment's warning." On the 11th, two six-pounder 
guns, named "The Twin Sisters," which had been 
sent by the citizens of Cincinnati, arrived from Har- 
risburg. There was no ordnance with them, and 
horseshoes and old pieces of iron were cut up and 
tied in bags for canister. On the 12th, Houston be- 
came convinced that Santa Anna had crossed the 
Brazos, and determined to follow him. The army 
was taken over on the Yellowstone, and encamped at 
Groce's plantation, where it was joined by Baker's 
and Martin's companies. Baker and Martin were 
in a refractory temper. They asked if there was to 
be any fighting, and were informed by Houston that 
there would be. The companies at first refused to 
fall into line, and Martin was so insubordinate that 
he was sent to the Trinity to keep the Indians quiet, 



SAN JACINTO 193 

if tliey should prove turbulent, and protect the fam- 
ilies of the settlers. On the 14th, the army com- 
menced its march to the south. The roads were in 
a terrible condition, the streams swollen and the prai- 
ries quagmired. Houston pulled off his coat, and 
put his shoulder to the wheels of the cannon. On 
the 18th, the army reached Buffalo Bayou, opposite 
the ruins of Harrisburg. Deaf Smith and Karnes, 
who had been sent out as spies, returned with a pris- 
oner bearing a buckskin bag full of dispatches to 
Santa Anna from General Filisola and the City of 
Mexico. There was no longer any doubt that the 
Mexican commander-in-chief was with the force be- 
low them. Houston and Rusk had a brief confer- 
ence. "We need not talk,'' said Houston. "You 
think we ought to fight, and I think so, too." Up to 
that time Houston had kept his own counsel, and a 
good many of the officers and men believed that they 
would take the Liberty road toward the Trinity. He 
then called them together and addressed them. His 
brief words were: "The army will cross, and we will 
meet the enemy. Some of us may be killed, and 
must be killed. But, soldiers, remember the Alamo, 
the Alamo, the Alamo!" Said Major Somerville, 
"After that speech there will be damned few prison- 
ers taken, that I know." Colonel Rusk began an 
eloquent speech, but stopped in the middle of it, say- 
ing, "I have done," as if he realized that it was use- 
less to inspire men for a battle which they were 
eagerly longing for. The dogged courage which had 



194 SAM HOUSTON 

held up the retreat now flamed into the fierce energy 
and lust for victory and vengeance. Buffalo Bayou 
is a narrow but deep stream, and was then running 
bank-full. Eafts were built of timber and rails, and 
were pulled across on a rope stretched from tree to 
tree, the horses swimming. Houston stood on the 
farther bank, and Eusk on the other, until the men 
were across. It was evening when the crossing was 
finished, but the troops pushed on, until they became 
so utterly exhausted that they were stumbling against 
each other in the ranks and falling down. They were 
given a rest for two hours, and again resumed their 
march, which they kept up until morning. At sun- 
rise on the morning of the 20th they were halted. 
They had shot ^me wandering cattle, and were cook- 
ing their breaii: .iSt, when an alarm was given that the 
scouts had encountered the enemy. Leaving their 
half -cooked meat on the sticks, they hastened forward 
to Lynch' s Ferry at the junction of Buffalo Bayou 
and the San Jacinto River, where it was expected that 
Santa Anna would cross on his way to Anahuac. No 
enemy was in sight, but they found a flat-boat loaded 
with provisions for Santa Anna's army, which they 
seized. They then fell back about half a mile to a 
grove on the banks of the bayou. The grove was of 
heavy live oaks, hung with the weeping Spanish 
moss, and free from underbrush. Before it was a 
stretch of gently rolling prairie, some two miles in 
extent. Upon the farther edge of the prairie were 
the marshes of the. San Jacinto River, which swept 



SAN JACINTO 195 

around it to the southward, and whose timber 
bounded the horizon. In front were two small 
islands, or "motts" of timber, a few hundred yards 
out on the prairie. In the rear were the turbid wa- 
ters of the bayou, there broadened to a stream of 
considerable width. The two cannon were planted 
on the edge of the grove, and the men encamped 
within its shelter. The grass on the prairie had al- 
ready grown up tall, and the vegetation was in the 
full leaf and luxuriance of the early Texas summer. 

On the morning of the 20th, Santa Anna had 
burnt the warehouses of New Washington and a ves- 
sel lying at the wharf, and his troops were in line for 
the march to Lynch 's Ferry, when Captain Barragan, 
who had been sent out on a scout t previous day, 
dashed up at full speed, and annou. jed that Hous- 
ton's army was close at hand, and had captured and 
dispatched some of the stragglers. At the entrance 
to New Washington there was a lane some half mile 
in length, which was filled with the baggage mules 
and the troops who had them in charge. When Santa 
Anna, who had not left the town, received the report 
of Captain Barragan, he dashed off at full speed 
through the lane, thrusting aside and knocking down 
the men and animals, and shouting at the top of his 
voice, "The enemy are coming! The enemy are com- 
ing! " This mad conduct excited and frightened the 
troops, and for some time there was an absolute con- 
fusion, the troops being on the verge of scattering in 
flight. Finally, they were formed in line on the 



196 SAM HOUSTON 

prairie beyond tlie lane, and a scouting party was 
sent out. No enemy was in sight, and the troops 
were formed into ranks and advanced. About two 
o'clock in the afternoon Houston's pickets were dis- 
covered on the edge of the grove, and Santa Anna 
again formed his troops in line of battle. He brought 
up his cannon, and fired a few shots, which did no 
execution, except in wounding Colonel J. C. Neill, in 
command of the Texan artillery. The Mexican skir- 
mish line of infantry advanced, but was received 
with a fire which drove it back in haste amid the wild 
shouts of the Texans. After some harmless ex- 
changes by the artillery, Santa Anna drew off, and 
established his camp with very poor judgment. Its 
front was open to the prairie without defense, and in 
its rear were the deep marshes of the San Jacinto 
River. In fact, Santa Anna appears to have lost 
control of his faculties since the surprise of the 
morning and the realization that he had cut himself 
off from the main body of his troops. His officers 
perceived and spoke of the weak situation of the 
camp, but no one dared to remonstrate with him in 
his haK-frantic state of mind. Late in the afternoon 
a slight skirmish took place. Colonel Sherman ob- 
tained permission to take out the Texan cavalry to 
reconnoitre, and endeavored to bring on a general 
engagement. He encountered the Mexican cavalry, 
and some shots were exchanged by which two Texans 
were wounded, one of them mortally. Some infantry 
was sent to his assistance, but Houston refused to 



SAN JACINTO 197 

advance for a battle, and the Texans retired. In 
this skirmish Mirabeau B. Lamar, afterward Presi- 
dent of the Republic, distinguished himself. He had 
joined the army at Grroce's, having walked nearly all 
the way from Yelasco, and was serving as a private 
in the cavalry. During the skirmish a young man 
named Walter P. Lane was cut off and was in dan- 
ger of being captured or killed. Lamar dashed for- 
ward, killed one Mexican, upset another, and dis- 
armed a third, and brought Lane in safe. For this 
dashing feat he was given the command of the cav- 
alry the next day. The Texans rested under double 
guard during the night, but there was nothing to 
break the silence except the voices of the night birds. 
The morning sun of April 21 rose bright and 
cloudless. Santa Anna fortified his camp to a slight 
extent by piling up a barricade of boxes, baggage, 
and pack-saddles in front of his lines with an opening 
in the centre for his cannon. Boughs of trees were 
also cut and piled up as a sort of abatis. The Tex- 
ans cooked their breakfast and waited for the orders 
of their commander. Houston was awake during the 
night, but slept for two hours in the morning with 
his head on a coil of rope used in dragging the can- 
non. At nine o'clock a body of Mexican troops were 
seen advancing over the prairie from the north. It 
was General Cos with a force of 500 men from Ses- 
ma's division. He had hastened by forced marches 
on the receipt of Santa Anna's orders to join him, 
and his men arrived so utterly exhausted that they 



198 SAM HOUSTON 

threw themselves down as soon as they had stacked 
arms. Houston said that they were not new men, 
but merely a body of the old ones, which had been 
marched around behind a rise in the prairie to give 
the impression of a reinforcement. But it is doubt- 
ful if his explanation deceived anybody, or if the 
Texans were at all discouraged by the addition to 
the enemy's forces. In the morning Houston had 
directed Major Forbes to provide a couple of axes, 
and summoned Deaf Smith. He ordered him to 
select a trustworthy companion, and hold himself in 
readiness for special service, and not to leave the 
camp. Smith selected Denmore Reeves, a fellow- 
scout, as his companion, and waited for his orders. 
Houston made no sign of opening the engagements, 
and the men became impatient. About noon some 
of the officers waited upon him, and asked for a coun- 
cil of war. Houston consented. The council con- 
sisted of Colonels Burleson and Sherman, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonels Millard and Bennett, Major Wells, 
Secretary Rusk, and the commander-in-chief. The 
question was put, " Shall we attack the enemy in his 
position, or await his attack in ours?" The two 
junior officers were in favor of attack. The four 
seniors and Secretary Rusk were in favor of awaiting 
the attack of the enemy. Rusk said that "to attack 
veteran troops with raw militia was a thing unheard 
of; to charge upon the enemy without bayonets in 
the open prairie had never been known ; our position 
is strong; in it we can whip all Mexico." Houston 



SAN JACINTO 199 

expressed no opinion, and dismissed the council. 
After the council had been dismissed Houston called 
Deaf Smith and his companion, and ordered them to 
take the axes and cut down Vince's bridge. The 
bridge was over Vince's Bayou, a stream running 
into Buffalo Bayou to the north about eight miles 
above the camp, and over which both armies had 
passed on their way into the cul de sac. Its destruc- 
tion cut off the only means of retreat for either army, 
and made the coming battle a struggle for life or 
death. As Smith and his companion started with 
the axes over their saddle-bows, Houston told them 
that they must hurry if they would be back in time 
for what was about to take place. Smith smiled and 
said, "This looks a good deal like a fight, general." 

At haK past three o'clock Houston gave orders for 
the troops to be formed in line of battle. The only 
music which the Texan army had was a solitary drum 
and fife. As the troops were forming they struck up 
the air, "Will you come to the bower? " The lines 
were drawn up behind the mott of timber in front 
of the camp. Colonel Burleson occupied the centre 
with the first regiment. Colonel Sherman, with the 
second regiment, formed the left wing. The two 
pieces of artillery, under the command of Colonel 
Hockley, were stationed on the right of the first 
regiment, supported by four companies of infantry 
under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Millard. The 
squadron of cavalry, sixty-eight in number, under 
command of Colonel Lamar, completed the line on 



200 SAM HOUSTON 

the right. Houston was with the centre, Rusk with 
the left. At four o'clock the order of "Forward! " 
was given. The afternoon sun was shining full in 
their eyes, lighting up the strong, eager faces and 
the stained and ragged garments, as the line moved 
forward with trailed arms. As they approached the 
enemy's camp their pace was quickened to a run, 
Houston dashing up and down behind the lines, wav- 
ing his old white hat, and shouting, "G — d d — n 
you, hold your fire!" When within about sixty 
yards of the barricade Deaf Smith dashed up on his 
horse, flecked with foam, and yelled, "You must 
fight for your lives! Vince's bridge has been cut 
down!" Where the guns were within point-blank 
distance they were wheeled and fired, smashing into 
the barricade. The Texans halted at close range, 
and delivered a volley, and then dashed forward with 
terrific yells, "Remember the Alamo! Remember 
La Baliia!" The Mexicans were taken entirly by 
surj)rise. Santa Anna had given up all idea of ex- 
pecting a battle that day, and was enjoying his siesta 
in his tent. Many of the other officers and men 
were also stretched out in a doze. Some of the men 
were cooking, and others were in the woods cutting 
boughs for shelter. The lines were composed of 
musket stacks. The cavalrymen were riding bare- 
back to and from water. When the Texan line was 
seen approaching there was the greatest alarm and 
confusion. General Castrillon shouted on one side, 
and Colonel Almonte was giving orders on the other. 



SAN JACINTO 201 

Some of the officers cried out to the men to fire, and 
others to lie down and avoid the shots. Santa Anna 
ran out of his tent and yelled to the men to lie down. 
iGeneral Castrillon endeavored to rally some men to 
work the gun, but the cannoneer was shot down, and 
the men ran back, as they saw the charging line. 
General Castrillon himself soon fell dead, struck with 
a rifle ball. The Mexicans had barely time to seize 
their muskets, and give a scattering volley at the 
charging line, when it burst over the feeble barricade 
upon the frightened and disorganized crowd. The 
Texans clubbed their rifles or drew their bowie 
knives, and plunged into the mass. Some of the 
Mexicans tried to use their bayonets, but the brawny 
arms of the Texans struck them down, and, after a 
quarter of an hour of confused and desperate struggle, 
the Mexican army was in full flight over the prairie 
or running into the morass, pursued by the shouting 
and yelling Texans. Santa Anna, after running 
frantically about, wringing his hands, sprang upon a 
splendid black stallion furnished by one of his aids, 
and led the flight toward Yince's bridge. The Mexi- 
cans who fled into the morass were bogged in the 
quagmire, and shot down as they struggled. Some 
of them were intercepted by a deep and muddy bayou 
at the rear of the right of their camp, and were killed 
on its banks or shot as they endeavored to flounder 
across. Those who fled over the prairie were pur- 
sued by fleeter footsteps than their own, and struck 
down or shot. The cavalry pursued those who fled 



202 SAM HOUSTON 

on horseback toward Vince's bridge. They found it 
destroyed, and only a few of them were able to cross 
the steep banks of the bayou. The Mexican soldiers, 
appalled by the fury of slaughter, threw up their 
hands and cried, "Me no Alamo! Me no Alamo!" 
The Texans executed a full vengeance. Six hundred 
and thirty were killed and 208 wounded out of a total 
of between 1300 and 1400 Mexicans. Colonel Al- 
monte managed to rally 300 or 400 men beyond the 
camp, and make a formal surrender. The rest threw 
down their arms as they ran, and were herded into 
the Texan camp after the slaughter. Houston re- 
ceived a ball in his ankle which shattered the bone, 
and his horse was shot in several places as he followed 
the charging line on the breastworks. He remained 
upon the field, however, until the Mexican army was 
in full flight. While riding over the prairie endeav- 
oring to stop the slaughter, his horse sank under him, 
and he fell to the ground. He turned over the com- 
mand to Colonel Rusk, and was taken back to the 
camp. Deaf Smith charged on horseback ahead of 
the infantry. When close to the breastwork his 
horse stumbled and threw him over his head. Smith 
lost his sword in his fall, and drew his pistol to kill a 
Mexican soldier who was advancing to stab him with 
his bayonet, but the cap snapped. He threw his 
pistol at the Mexican, and staggered him back. He 
then wrenched the soldier's musket from his hands 
and defended himself until the infantry came up. 
When darkness fell the prisoners were put under 



SAN JACINTO 203 

guard. Bright fires were lit, and the Texans gave 
themselves up to wild rejoicings. They yelled and 
pranced around the prisoners, shouting to every offi- 
cer, "Santa Anna? Santa Anna?"" until some of 
them pulled off their shoulder-straps to escape the 
annoyance. There was a grand illumination of can- 
dles, which the Texans had procured from the Mexi- 
can baggage, and carried about in their hands. The 
dark arches of the grove echoed with the wild tumult 
until nearly morning. The prisoners, however, were 
not maltreated, but only made subject to a fire of 
chaff in a language which they did not understand. 
It was merely the effervescence of vigorous animal 
spirits working off the intoxication of victory. 

The number of Texans in the battle which achieved 
their independence was 743. Of these only six were 
killed in the engagement, and twenty-five were 
wounded, of whom two afterward died. The losses 
were almost all in the scattering volley fired against 
them before they crossed the breastwork. After that 
the Mexicans were helplessly slaughtered. The 
Mexican loss was 630 killed, 208 wounded, and 730 
prisoners. As an illustration of the fury of the 
Texan blows, many skulls have been picked up on 
the battle-field which showed where they had been 
struck in the back with bowie knives and sprayed, as 
a pane of glass is sprayed by a blow. A large quan- 
tity of arms, baggage, and camp equipage fell into 
the hands of the victors, including 900 English mus- 
kets, 300 sabres, and 200 pistols. There were 300 



204 SAM HOUSTON 

mules and 100 horses, clothing, tents, and camp 
equipage. Among the spoils was the sum of 112,000 
in silver. The soldiers voted that ^12000 of this 
should be devoted to the support of the navy. The 
rest was distributed among them, making 17.50 each, 
which was all the money they received during the 
campaign. 

The next day parties were sent out to bury the 
dead Mexican soldiers, in whose bodies decomposition 
set in so rapidly as to cause the more superstitious 
among the prisoners to attribute their disaster to a 
supernatural visitation. The plunder of the Mexican 
camp was brought in, and the Texans amused them- 
selves by decorating the mules with officers' sashes 
and ribbons, and in all kinds of rude horse-play. In 
the mean time, parties were scouring the country in 
search of Santa Anna and other fugitives. Houston 
had prophesied that Santa Anna would be found 
making his retreat on all fours, and in the dress of a 
common soldier. About two o'clock a little man was 
brought in behind a soldier on horseback. His rest- 
less eyes and pallid countenance indicated that he 
was suffering from great fear. He was dressed in 
linen trousers, a blue cotton jacket, a cap, and red 
worsted slippers. The Mexican soldiers, on seeing 
him, exclaimed, "El Presidente! El General Santa 
Anna!" 

When Santa Anna, in his flight from the battle- 
field, came to Yince's Bayou and found the bridge de- 
stroyed, he plunged in with his horse. The horse was 



SAN JACINTO 205 

mired, and was unable to extricate himself. Santa 
Anna left him, swam across the stream, climbed the 
opposite bank, and continued his flight on foot. He 
found some old clothes in an abandoned house, and 
exchanged his gilded uniform for them. The next 
day he was discovered by James T. Sylvester and a 
party of four, who were scouting the country. He 
was standing on the edge of a ravine, and when he 
saw the party riding toward him he dropped on all 
fours in the grass, and was with difficulty compelled 
to rise. He claimed to be a private soldier, but his 
fine linen and jeweled studs betrayed him to be an 
officer. He then said that he was an aid-de-camp to 
Santa Anna. As the party started to return to camp 
he complained that his feet were so sore that he could 
not walk, and he was taken behind one of the men on 
horseback. 

Santa Anna was brought into the presence of 
Houston, who was lying on his pallet in a doze, hav- 
ing been kept awake during the night from the pain 
of his wound. Houston was not much more distin- 
guished in dress than his captive. His dandyism had 
given way to the exigencies of the campaign, and 
he wore an old black coat, a black velvet vest, a 
pair of snuff-colored pantaloons, and dilapidated 
boots. His only badge of authority during the cam- 
paign was a sword with a plated scabbard, which he 
tied to his belt with buckskin thongs. Santa Anna 
stepped forward, and said, with an impressive bow, 
"I am General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Pres- 



206 SAM HOUSTON 

ident of the Mexican Kepublic, and I claim to be a 
prisoner of war at your disposal." Houston waved 
his hand for him to be seated on an ammunition box, 
and Colonel Almonte was sent for to act as inter- 
preter. While waiting his arrival, Santa Anna 
pressed his hands to his sides as if in pain or fear, 
and his restless black eyes glanced around the camp. 
When Almonte came up Santa Anna complained of 
pain, and asked for a piece of opium. A piece of 
about five grains was given him, and he regained 
something of his composure. His first words were, 
"That man may consider himself born to no common 
destiny who has conquered the Napoleon of the West. 
It now remains for him to be generous to the van- 
quished." Houston replied, "You should have re- 
membered that at the Alamo." Santa Anna en- 
deavored to excuse himself for the slaughter of the 
garrison of the Alamo, on the ground that he was 
acting under the orders of the government of Mexico 
to treat all prisoners taken in arms as pirates, but 
was reminded that he was himself the government of 
Mexico. He declared that he was not aware that 
Fannin had surrendered under terms of capitulation, 
and threatened that he would have Urrea executed 
for deceiving him, if he ever regained power. Santa 
Anna desired to treat with Houston for terms of 
peace and his release, but Houston informed him that 
he had no authority, and that the matter must be 
referred to the government of Texas. Santa Anna 
then proposed an armistice, which was agreed to. 



SAN JACINTO 207 

He wrote an order to General Filisola for him to 
retire to Bexar and to notify General Gaona to do 
the same. General Urrea was to be directed to retire 
to Guadalupe Victoria, and the prisoners at Goliad, 
captured at Copano, were to be released. As soon 
as the dispatches were written, they were sent off by 
Deaf Smith. Houston then sent for Santa Anna's 
tent, which he had erected near him, and delivered 
to him his private baggage untouched. There was 
considerable excitement among the Texan soldiers 
when it was known that Santa Anna was a prisoner. 
Some of the more violent wanted to kill him on the 
spot, and Houston ordered a guard around his tent 
for its protection. 

The news of Santa Anna's defeat reached General 
Filisola on the afternoon of the 22d, from the mouth 
of an officer who had succeeded in crossing Vince's 
Bayou on horseback. It was at first disbelieved, but 
other fugitives came in and confirmed it. General 
Gaona had previously joined Filisola with his col- 
umn, and a portion of his troops had crossed the 
Brazos on their way to Nacogdoches. They were 
recalled, and dispatches were sent to General Urrea at 
Matagorda, and to Colonel Salas at Columbia, to join 
Filisola as soon as possible. Filisola was informed 
that the victorious Texan army numbered 1200 or 
1500 men, and decided to fall back to a more secure 
position. He retreated to a place on the road to 
Victoria, and on the 26th was joined by General 
Urrea. The commanders in consultation decided to 



208 SAM HOUSTON 

retire beyond the Colorado, and await instructions 
and reinforcements from the Mexican authorities. 
Their troops numbered about 2500 men, but they 
were worn out and discouraged, and destitute of sup- 
plies. On the 27th, Deaf Smith reached the Mexican 
army with Santa Anna's dispatches, and, although 
the retreat had already been decided upon, it was 
agreed to have it considered as under Santa Anna's 
orders. General Woll was sent to Houston's camp 
with stipulations on the part of Filisola that he 
should be allowed to supply himself with cattle for 
provisions on his retreat, and with secret instructions 
to inform himself of the condition and strength of the 
Texan force. WoU's latter purpose was suspected, 
and he was detained as a prisoner. General Cos had 
also been captured on the 24th, as he was endeavor- 
ing to make his way through the Brazos bottom. 
The Mexican troops continued their retreat with great 
difficulty, the roads being in a horrible condition, and 
the men and animals utterly worn out. They reached 
Victoria May 7, where they halted. 

The news of the victory of San Jacinto did not 
reach the government on Galveston Island until 
April 27. It caused great rejoicing, and President 
Burnett and his Cabinet, who had been making prep- 
arations for a farther flight, if necessary, took pas- 
sage for Houston's camp. There negotiations were 
opened with Santa Anna. He was ready to promise 
anything to secure his liberty. Houston addressed a 
note to Rusk suggesting the conditions of a treaty to 



SUGGESTIONS FOR A TREATY 209 

be made with him. They were the recognition of the 
independence of Texas by Mexico; the establislunent 
of the Rio Grande as the boundary between the two 
countries ; indemnity for all losses sustained by Texas 
during the war; Santa Anna and other officers to be 
retained as hostages until the ratification of the terms 
of the treaty by the Mexican government; release of 
the Texan prisoners and Mexican citizens favorable 
to the cause of Texas who had been arrested, and 
the restoration of their property; immediate with- 
drawal of the Mexican troops from the territory of 
Texas, and the cessation of hostilities by sea and 
land; a guarantee for the surrender of all Mexican 
prisoners as soon as the terms of the treaty were com- 
plied with. It was also suggested that agents be 
appointed to the United States to secure the media- 
tion of that country between Texas and Mexico. A 
minority of the Cabinet, headed by Lamar, who had 
been appointed Secretary of War, in place of Rusk, 
who had been made a brigadier-general and given 
command of the army, opposed any negotiations with 
Santa Anna. They argued that as a prisoner no 
agreement that he might make would be binding 
upon the government of Mexico, and that as he had 
violated the laws of war of civilized nations by his 
cruelty, he should be brought to trial and punished 
with death. 

Houston, being incapacitated by his wound from 
active service, addressed a farewell order to the 
army : — 



210 SAM HOUSTON 

Headquarters, San Jacinto, May 5, 1836. 

CoMEADES, — Circumstances connected with the 
battle of the 21st render our separation for the pres- 
ent unavoidable. I need not express to you the many- 
painful sensations which that separation inflicts upon 
me. I am solaced, however, by the hope that we 
shall soon be reunited in the cause of liberty. Brig- 
adier-General Rusk is appointed to command the 
army for the present. I confide in his valor, his 
patriotism, his wisdom. His conduct in the battle of 
San Jacinto was sufficient to secure your confidence 
and regard. 

The enemy, although retreating, are still within 
the limits of Texas ; their situation being known to 
you, you cannot be taken by surprise. Discipline 
and subordination will render you invincible. Your 
valor and heroism have proved you unrivaled. Let 
not contempt for the enemy throw you off your guard. 
Vigilance is the first duty of the soldier, and glory 
the proudest reward of his toils. 

You have patiently endured privations, hardships, 
and difficulties unappalled ; you have encountered two 
to one of the enemy against you, and borne yourselves 
in the onset and conflict of battle in a manner un- 
known in the annals of modern warfare. While an 
enemy to independence remains in Texas your work 
is incomplete ; but when liberty is firmly established 
by your patience and your valor, it will be fame 
enough to say, "I was a member of the army of San 
Jacinto." 



TREATY SIGNED " 211 

In taking leave of my brave comrades in arms, I 
cannot suppress the expression of that pride which 
I so justly feel in having had the honor to command 
them in person, nor will I withhold the tribute of my 
warmest admiration and gratitude for the promptness 
with which my orders were executed, and union 
maintained through the army. At parting my heart 
embraces you with gratitude and affection. 

Sam Houston, Commander-in- Chief, 

He was taken on his cot on board the steamer Yel- 
lowstone May 7, and in company with President Bur- 
nett and the Cabinet, Santa Anna and his staff, and 
the rest of the prisoners, left for Galveston Island. 
Here Houston was transferred to the little schooner 
Flora, and sailed for New Orleans for medical treat- 
ment. The government and Santa Anna went to 
Yelasco, leaving the Mexican soldiers herded in a 
camp on the island. At Velasco a treaty was signed, 
May 14, embodying the conditions suggested by 
Houston. The portion in relation to the cessation 
of hostilities, the surrender of prisoners, and the 
agreement for indemnities was public, but that in 
regard to the acknowledgment of the independence of 
Texas by Mexico was made a separate secret treaty, 
at the suggestion of Santa Anna, lest it should be 
repudiated by the Mexican government before he 
arrived home. It was agreed that he should be sent 
to Vera Cruz as soon as possible in order that he 
might fulfill the conditions of the treaty. 



212 - SAM HOUSTON 

During the land campaign some operations liad 
been performed by the Texan navy. Two small 
schooners, the Invincible and the Liberty, had been 
purchased and put in commission. Two others, the 
Independence and the Brutus, were afterward ob- 
tained. These vessels cruised oE the coast for the 
purpose of interrupting the supplies of the Mexican 
troops by sea. Early in April the Invincible had an 
engagement for two hours with the Mexican vessel 
Montezuma off Brazos Santiago, and drove her 
ashore. The Invincible also captured the American 
brig Pocket, bound for Matamoras, with supplies for 
the Mexican troops. The Texan vessels were manned 
by volunteer crews, who were as ready to turn their 
hands to fighting by sea as by land. Some of the 
sailors had possibly seen service with Lafitte, and the 
commanders were as handy and brisk in fighting as 
in meeting the exigencies of navigation in times when 
the merchant service had all the attributes of adven- 
ture. "Mexican" Thompson was by no means the 
only daring and desperate adventurer upon the Gulf 
coast in those days, and there was no lack of men 
ready to take service on either side from sheer love 
of fighting or the hope of plunder. The American 
and English governments were obliged to keep cruis- 
ers in the Gulf for the protection of their merchant 
shipping, and on several occasions the belligerents 
were taken in hand and threatened with prosecution 
under the laws against piracy. The little Texan 
vessels inflicted a good deal of annoyance upon Mexi- 



CRITICISMS ON THE CAMPAIGN 213 

can commerce, and tlie Mexican government sent 
agents to Europe to endeavor to secure a more for- 
midable fleet. 

A great deal of local controversy lias arisen over 
Houston's conduct of the San Jacinto campaign, and 
some very bitter criticisms have been made upon it. 
Some of the leading officers, who were afterward 
opposed to him politically, charged him with coward- 
ice, and asserted that he was forced to fight by the 
demands of his men, and their threats to depose him 
if he did not. Houston's unsparing tongue and re- 
criminating charges aggravated their violence, and 
the harshest personalities were exchanged. Houston 
defended himself at length in his last speech in the 
United States Senate, February 28, 1859. In it he 
gave a history of the campaign, and accused Colonel 
Sidney Sherman and other officers of cowardice and 
misconduct. Ex-President Anson Jones, in his vol- 
ume "Memoranda and Official Correspondence re- 
lating to the History of Texas and its Annexation," 
published to exploit himself at the expense of Hous- 
ton, declared that Houston's plan was not to fight at 
all, but to fall back behind the Neches, which at one 
time had been claimed by the United States as the 
boundary of its territory. It was expected that this 
would not be respected by Santa Anna, and that 
he would come into collision with the United States 
troops which had been advanced beyond the Sabine 
under General E. P. Gaines. This would give an 
excuse for active hostilities on the part of the United 



214 SAM HOUSTON 

States, and a war of conquest against Mexico, such 
as was afterward brought on by the movement of 
General Taylor's troops to the Eio Grande. Jones 
asserted that Houston had told him, while the army 
was encamped in the Brazos bottom, that he intended 
to retreat, and "win a bloodless victory." He be- 
lieved that there was an understanding with Presi- 
dent Jackson in accordance with this scheme. It is 
true that on the outbreak of hostilities between Texas 
and Mexico, General Gaines was ordered to advance 
to the frontier under instructions from the Secretary 
of War to prevent any attack by the Indian tribes 
against the people of either Texas or the United 
States. But he was ordered to observe a strict neu- 
trality between the contending parties, and to permit 
neither one of them to cross the boundary in arms. 
Gaines concentrated several regiments at the Sabine, 
and applied for permission to cross the boundary in 
case the Mexicans threatened the frontier with a hos- 
tile force. It was given to him in his discretion, but 
he was advised not to advance beyond Nacogdoches. 
There is no doubt that President Jackson, like the 
majority of the people of the United States, earnestly 
sympathized with the Texan colonists in their struggle 
for independence. But there is nothing to indicate 
that it was not his purj)ose to observe a complete 
neutrality, and no evidence whatever to show that 
there was such an understanding between himself and 
Houston, as intimated by Jones. It was a proper 
measure of precaution to advance a force to the bor- 



PLAN OF CAMPAIGN 215 

der to prevent the violation of United States territory 
by either party, and to prevent the possibility of any 
disturbance by the fickle and turbulent Indians. 
The presence of General Gaines's force, undoubtedly, 
had a quieting effect upon the latter, who might have 
been persuaded by the Mexican agents to take up 
arms against the colonists. 

Houston's plan of campaign probably was to fall 
back until he was joined by a sufficient force to give 
battle to the Mexican army, if it remained concen- 
trated, if he had to retreat beyond the Trinity or even 
to the Sabine. When the news reached him, at his 
camp on the Brazos, that Santa Anna had gone south 
with a small division he moved rapidly after him with 
the purpose of giving battle, and ending the war at a 
stroke. He might have attacked and overwhelmed 
Sesma on the Colorado, but it would only have re- 
sulted in a concentration of the Mexican columns 
under Santa Anna, and a further retreat or a battle 
at a disadvantage. By not attacking Sesma, the 
chance was that Santa Anna would scatter his forces 
to occupy the country, and in his impatience and 
self-confidence put himself into the power of the 
Texans. This, indeed, was what happened. There 
is no doubt that Houston followed Santa Anna for 
the purpose of giving battle, and with the assurance 
of victory. He addressed a note to Colonel Henry 
Raguet at Nacogdoches, just before crossing Buffalo 
Bayou to Harrisburg, in which he said : — 

"This morning we are in preparation to meet 



216 SAM HOUSTON 

Santa Anna. It is tlie only chance of saving Texas. 
From time to time I have looked for reinforcements 
in vain. The Convention adjourning to Harrisburg 
struck panic throughout the country. Texas could 
have started at least 4000 men. We will only have 
about 700 to march with, beside the camp guard. 
We go to conquer. It is wisdom growing out of ne- 
cessity to meet the enemy now. Every consideration 
enforces it. No previous occasion would justify it." 
Houston might have attacked Santa Anna on the 
first day of their meeting, and before the latter was 
reinforced by General Cos. His reason, as given 
after the battle, was that he did not want "to make 
two bites of one cherry." What he did accomplish 
by waiting was to take the Mexican troops by sur- 
prise, although it was hardly to be counted on in 
the exercise of ordinary intelligence by Santa Anna. 
His destruction of Vince's bridge showed that he 
meant to make the battle a decisive one, and that he 
had the utmost confidence in a victory. There was 
no opportunity for the display of tactical skill in the 
battle, but his dash at the works showed the determi- 
nation for a vigorous and deadly stroke, which was 
all that was necessary. Houston's plan of campaign 
was wise and prudent according to the ordinary rules 
of war. Perhaps he erred in not counting suffi- 
ciently on the fighting quality of the Texan as com- 
pared with the Mexican soldier, and might have de- 
feated the entire Mexican army with as large odds 
against him as Taylor had at Buena Vista. But he 



HIS WISDOM VINDICATED 217 

had no artillery, and his troops were raw and with- 
out discipline. It would have been a great risk, 
which he was not justified in taking, and the event 
was a vindication of his wisdom. 



CHAPTER XII 

FIRST TERM AS PRESIDENT 

The army under General Rusk left the camp at 
San Jacinto to follow the Mexican forces under Fili- 
sola, and see that they continued their retreat. Af- 
ter the victory of San Jacinto, companies which had 
been on their way joined the army, or gathered at 
the headquarters of the government at Yelasco. Vol- 
unteer companies which had been raised in the United 
States came by sea and land. Felix Huston, a prom- 
inent lawyer of Mississippi, enlisted and equipped a 
force at his own expense. On the protest of the 
Mexican minister Gorostiza, the district attorney of 
Mississippi was instructed to arrest him, but reported 
that he was unable to do so in the condition of popu- 
lar feeling. Huston brought in his force, which he 
claimed to be 500 men, but the adjutant -general of 
the army reported it as much less. On June 1, Gen- 
eral Thomas Jefferson Green arrived at Velasco on 
the steamer Ocean, from New Orleans, with 250 
men. The excitement and indignation at the agree- 
ment for the release of Santa Anna had been grow- 
ing. Secretary Lamar had issued a letter, full of 
impassioned and inflated rhetoric, in which he called 
for his punishment "by the laws of Draco." When 



ARREST OF SANTA ANNA 219 

the volunteers from New Orleans arrived the turbu- 
lence increased, and it was determined to prevent 
Santa Anna from sailing for Mexico. He had al- 
ready gone on board the Texan schooner Invincible 
with his staff, and had addressed a farewell letter to 
the Texan soldiers, in which he thanked them for 
their kindness, and called them his friends. Vice- 
President Zavala and Bailey Hardiman, the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, were to accompany him to Vera 
Cruz as commissioners to secure the ratification of 
the treaty. Captain Brown of the Invincible de- 
clared that he would not sail without orders from 
"the people." President Burnett, making a virtue 
of necessity, directed General Green to bring Santa 
Anna on shore, telling him that he would be held 
responsible for the life of the prisoner. Santa Anna 
was found in the cabin, and refused to obey. He 
was frantic from fear. "He lay on his back, and his 
respiration was difficult." He declared that he had 
taken opium, and would soon die. On a threat to 
put him in irons he got up and joined the party. He 
was put into the boat, and became still more alarmed 
at the sight of the crowd on shore. He was reas- 
sured, and advised to wave the Texan flag. He did 
so with trembling hands, and was landed at Quin- 
tana, on the opposite side of the bay from Yelasco, 
where he was put under guard. Having recovered 
from his fear of immediate destruction, he addressed 
a fervent protest to President Burnett, complaining 
of the violence to which he had been subjected, and 



220 SAM HOUSTON 

of the breaking of tlie terms of the treaty agreement. 
Burnett replied, apologizing for the violation of the 
agreement, and saying that its fulfillment would have 
to be postponed for a season on account of "the 
highly excited popular indignation." 

General Rusk was unable to control the turbulent 
and restless spirits in the army, which Houston had 
been able to keep in some measure of restraint. 
They attacked the government for its failure to sup- 
ply the army with food and clothing, and inflamed 
the indignation of the soldiers at the proposed release 
of Santa Anna. On May 29, while the army was 
at Victoria, a violent and inflammatory address was 
drawn up, complaining of the necessities of the army, 
and holding the President responsible for them. It 
declared that the army would not permit the release 
of Santa Anna without the sanction of a Texan Con- 
gress, and demanded that the President should order 
an election within two months for the establishment 
of a new government. The address was simply a 
declaration of insubordination, and the assumption of 
supreme authority by the army. President Burnett 
replied that the Executive was not to blame for the 
wants of which the soldiers complained, as it was 
totally without means, and mildly informed them that 
when the civil government was compelled to receive 
the dictation of an armed force there was serious 
danger of its being subverted by military misrule. 
Subsequently he issued an address to the people and 
the army, arguing forcibly in favor of the advantages 



TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES 221 

of the treaty with Santa Anna, and the good effect 
which would be produced on the opinion of the world 
by sparing the life of the prisoner. President Bur- 
nett, however, had no authority beyond his eloquence, 
and the government of Texas was very nearly in a 
state of anarchy. The army and the people continued 
to clamor for the execution of Santa Anna, and there 
was no means either of enforcing order, or of collect- 
ing money. 

There was a strong desire for immediate annexa- 
tion to the United States, which would be an absolute 
protection against the power of Mexico. On the 
20th of May, James Collingsworth and Peter W. 
Grayson were appointed commissioners to the United 
States, to ask for the mediation of that country be- 
tween Texas and Mexico, and for the immediate rec- 
ognition of Texan independence. They were also 
instructed to urge the government to accede to the 
wishes of the Texan people for annexation. The 
news of the victory of San Jacinto had caused great 
rejoicing in the United States. Public meetings 
were held in New York and other cities in favor of 
the recognition of the independence of Texas. On 
the 18th of June, Mr. Clay, from the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, reported a resolution to recognize the 
independence of Texas, and supported it in an elo- 
quent speech, but action upon it was postponed. 
Mr. Henry M. Morfitt was appointed a special com- 
missioner to proceed to Texas and examine and report 
on its condition. 



222 SAM HOUSTON 

After a tedious voyage, Houston arrived at New 
Orleans on the 11th of May. His wound had not 
received proper attention, and was beginning to show 
signs of mortification. He was greatly reduced in 
strength, and lay on his cot on the deck as the vessel 
ascended the river. News of his approach was for- 
warded to the city when the Flora reached "English 
Turn," and the levee was lined with crowds to wit- 
ness his arrival. He was taken to the house of his 
old friend. Colonel William Christy, who had served 
with him as a lieutenant during the Creek war, and 
who had been very energetic in raising money and 
volunteers for the assistance of the Texans. Houston 
was attended by Dr. James Kerr, who had been his 
physician twenty years before when suffering from 
the wound received at the battle of To-ho-pe-ka. 
His recovery was slow and painful. More than 
twenty pieces of bone were taken from the wound, 
and he was confined to his bed for several weeks. 
As soon as he was able to move, he went up the Ked 
Eiver by steamer to Natchitoches. He proceeded by 
slow stages to San Augustine, which he reached on 
the 5th of July. The rmnor had arrived there that 
the Mexicans were advancing with another invading 
army. Houston, leaning on his crutches, delivered 
an address to the citizens, which resulted in the de- 
parture of 160 men for the army within two days. 
News was also soon afterward received that Colonels 
Millard and Wheelock had left the army, with an or- 
der to the government to deliver up Santa Anna for 



PROTEST BY HOUSTON 223 

immediate execution, and for the arrest of President 

Burnett. Houston at once sent a protest to General 

Rusk : — 

Ayish Bayou, July 26, 1836. 

To THE General commanding the Army of 
Texas : 
Sir^ — I have just heard through a citizen of the 
army that it is the intention to remove General 
Santa Anna to the army, and place him upon his 
trial. I cannot credit this statement ; it is obviously 
contrary to the true policy of Texas. The advan- 
tages which his capture presented to us will be de- 
stroyed. Disregard, if you will, our national char- 
acter, and place what construction you please upon 
the rules of civilized warfare, we are compelled by 
every principle of humanity and morality to abstain 
from every act of passion or inconsideration that 
is unproductive of positive good. Execute Santa 
Anna, and what will be the fate of the Texans who 
are held prisoners by the Mexicans ? What will be 
the condition of the North Americans residing within 
the limits of Mexico? Death to them and confis- 
cation of their property is the least that can be 
expected. Doubtless torture will be added to the 
catastrophe, when stimulated by ignorance, fanati- 
cism, and the last expiring struggle of the priesthood 
for power and dominion. Texas, to be respected, 
must be considerate, politic, and just in her actions. 
Santa Anna living, and secured beyond all danger of 
escape, in the eastern section of Texas (as I first sug- 



224 SA3I HOUSTON 

gested), may be of incalculable advantage to Texas in 
her present situation. In cool blood to offer up the 
living to the manes of the departed only finds an ex- 
ample in the religion and warfare of the savages. 
Eegard for one's departed friends should stimulate us 
in the hour of battle, and would excuse us in the 
moment of victory for partial excesses, at which our 
calmer feelings of humanity would relent. 

The affairs of Texas, as connected with General 
Santa Anna as President of the Republic of Mexico, 
have become matter of consideration to which the 
attention of the United States has been called, and 
for Texas, at this moment, to proceed to extreme 
measures, as to the merits or demerits of General 
Santa Anna, would be treating that government 
with high disrespect, and I would respectfully add, 
in my opinion, it would be incurring the most unfor- 
tunate responsibility for Texas. 

I, therefore, Commander-in-Chief of the army of 
the Republic, do solemnly protest against the trial, 
sentence, and execution of General Antonio Lopez de 
Santa Anna, President of the Republic of Mexico, 
until the relations in which we are to stand to the 
United States shall be ascertained. 

Sam Houston, 
Commaiider-in- Chief of the Army. 

The protest had its effect in calming the vindictive 
passions of the army, and in preventing the military 
trial and execution of Santa Anna. The Texan army 



RETREAT OF MEXICAN ARMY 225 

had been swelled to about 2500 men by volunteers 
from the colonists and from the United States, and 
was in a very undisciplined and disorganized condi- 
tion. The ambitious adventurers all coveted imme- 
diate distinction and authority. "There were very 
few above the rank of captain who did not aspire 
to be commander-in-chief." The leaders cultivated 
popularity by the rough and ready methods of frontier 
politicians, and the camp was a good deal like a pro- 
longed political barbecue. General Felix Huston, 
known among the soldiers as "Old Long Shanks" 
and "Old Leather Breeches," assumed authority, and 
conducted himself like the leader of a popular mob. 
Meanwhile, the Mexican troops had retreated from 
the territory of Texas. When the news of the defeat 
at San Jacinto reached the City of Mexico, Tornel, 
the Secretary of War, sent a dispatch to General 
Filisola to hold San Antonio, announcing that fresh 
preparations would be made for an army of invasion. 
But Filisola' s army was already beyond the Nueces 
when the order reached him, and he continued his 
retreat toward Matamoras. He was superseded, and 
directed to turn the command over to General Urrea, 
who was already in Matamoras. Urrea commanded 
the army to halt, but its condition was such that the 
officers decided that it must reach a place of shelter 
and supply, or perish. It pushed on and reached 
Matamoras May 18. No reinforcements were sent 
by the Mexican government, and the chaos and con- 
fusion which resulted from the absence of Santa 



226 SAM HOUSTON 

Anna prevented any attempt for tlie renewal of the 
invasion of Texas. There being no enemy to fight 
within the limits of the territory schemes were re- 
newed in the Texan army for the invasion of Mexico, 
and it was proposed to advance upon Matamoras. 
To add to the confusion and disorganization the 
government a]3pointed Secretary Lamar to be com- 
mander-in-chief, in place of Houston, and he pro- 
ceeded to the camp to assume the command. This 
produced great dissatisfaction. The officers protested 
against his claim. Lamar persisted in his right, and 
it was agreed to leave it to a vote of the soldiers as 
to whether they would receive Lamar as commander- 
in-chief or not. After the usual stump oratory the 
vote was taken, and, there being an overwhelming 
majority against Lamar, he retired. 

The only thing accomplished by the Texan army 
during the period was the capture of three vessels in 
the harbor of Copano by a company of twenty 
mounted rangers under the command of Captain 
Isaac W. Burton. The company had been sent by 
General Kusk to see that no body of the enemy re- 
mained below Refugio. In the harbor of Copano 
they discovered a vessel, the Watchman, laden with 
supplies for the Mexican army. A portion of the 
crew were decoyed on shore. Their boat was seized, 
and the vessel boarded and captured by the rangers. 
While the Watchman was lying in the harbor, wait- 
ing for a favorable wind for Yelasco, two other ves- 
sels, the Comanche and the Fanny Butler, came in. 



SANTA APPEALS TO JACKSON 227 

The captain of the Watchman was compelled to signal 
to their commanders to come on board his vessel, 
where they were seized. The vessels surrendered to 
boarding parties, and the three were taken to Yelasco. 
Their supplies were valued at $25,000, and were sent 
to the army. The rangers received the honorary title 
of the "Horse Marines" for their exploit. 

Santa Anna was removed from Quintana to Ve- 
lasco, and afterward to Columbia. While at Colum- 
bia a plot was formed to rescue him by the Mexican 
consul at New Orleans through the instrumentality of 
a young Spaniard named Bartholomew Pages. It 
was asserted that an attempt was made to poison the 
guard by means of wine. Santa Anna was put in 
irons, and subjected to other indignities. He was 
fired at by a drunken soldier through the window of 
the house where he was confined. Finally, he was 
removed to Orizamba and kept in close confinement. 
On the advice of Austin, who had returned from the 
United States and visited him, he addressed a letter 
to President Jackson asking him to interfere for his 
release, and professing a desire for the immediate 
recognition of the independence of Texas by the 
United States and Mexico. Meanwhile, the Con- 
gress of Mexico had passed a decree that all treaties 
and agreements executed by Santa Anna while he 
was a prisoner were null and void. 

A proclamation was issued by President Burnett 
on the 23d of July for a general election, to be held 
on the 1st of September, for the choice of a President 



228 SAM HOUSTON 

and Congress to take the place of the provisional 
government. The question of an application for 
annexation to the United States was also submitted 
to the popular vote. Politics grew quickly and 
rankly in Texas. There were two parties, one in 
favor of Stephen F. Austin, and one, headed by the 
Whartons, in favor of ex-Governor Henry Smith. 
Houston was nominated by mass meetings at Colum- 
bia, San Augustine, and other places. He professed 
an unwillingness to be a candidate, but it is not prob- 
able that he was very strenuous in resisting the invi- 
tations. His prestige as the victor of San Jacinto 
and his gifts of personal popularity resulted in a 
triumphant election. He received 4374 votes, to 745 
for Smith and 587 for Austin. Mirabeau B. Lamar 
was elected Vice-President, on the strength, Houston 
said, of an extra line in the latter 's report of the 
battle of San Jacinto. The application for annexa- 
tion to the United States was voted for with practical 
unanimity. The first Congress of Texas assembled 
at Columbia, October 3. The date for the inaugura- 
tion of the new President was fixed for December 1, 
but President Burnett was desirous of escaping from 
his anomalous position of provisional and inefficient 
authority, and resigned to allow the permanent gov- 
ernment to come into power. Houston was installed 
on October 22, and delivered an extemporaneous in- 
augural address. He urged the necessity of main- 
taining the army in a state of vigilance and discipline 
to meet any invasion of the enemy. He pointed out 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS 229 

the importance of establishing friendly relations with 
the Indian tribes, which could be secured by a course 
of even-handed justice. He expressed warm thanks 
to those who had aided the country in its struggle for 
independence, and he hoped that the United States 
would respond favorably to the appeal of a willing 
people for annexation. In concluding, he indulged 
in one of the histrionic effects of which he was fond. 
He disengaged his sword, and, after a pause and ap- 
parent struggle with his emotions, he handed it to the 
presiding officer, saying, "It now, sir, becomes my 
duty to make a presentation of this sword, the em- 
blem of my past office. I have worn it with some 
humble pretentions in the defense of my country, and 
should the danger of my country again call for my 
services, I expect to resume it, and respond to that 
call, if needful, with my blood and my life." 

Houston addressed himself with great practical 
sagacity to the duties of his office. He appointed the 
two competitors for the Presidency to places in his 
Cabinet. Austin was made Secretary of State, and 
Smith Secretary of the Treasury. Colonel William 
H. Wharton was appointed minister to the United 
States, and General Memucan Hunt was afterward 
added as a commissioner to urge annexation. Colo- 
nel J. Pinkney Henderson was appointed minister 
to Great Britain and France. The duties of the new 
government of Texas were heavy. It had to main- 
tain an army to meet a possible invasion, to equip 
an adequate navy for the defense of the coast, to de- 



230 SAM HOUSTON 

fend the frontiers against the always turbulent and 
dangerous Indians, to provide for the administration 
of justice and all the functions of a civil government, 
without a dollar in the treasury or any adequate 
means available for taxation. Congress immediately 
passed an act authorizing the President to issue bonds 
to the amount of $5,000,000, payable in thirty years, 
and commissioners were appointed to go to the 
United States to attempt to negotiate the loan. Ad- 
ditional bounties were offered for volunteers, and the 
President was authorized to increase and reorganize 
the army. An act was passed for the increase of the 
navy by the purchase of a twenty -four-gun sloop-of- 
war, two steamers, and two eleven -gun schooners. 
The rates of duties on imports were fixed. The 
courts were organized, a land office and mail routes 
established. The boundaries of the Republic were 
decided to extend from the Sabine to the Rio Grande, 
and northward to the forty-second parallel of latitude, 
which would have included the greater portion of 
New Mexico. The boundary line of the province 
had been somewhat indefinite under the authority of 
Spain and Mexico, but its relative place between 
Texas and New Mexico was well understood, and 
there was no foundation for the claim to the forty- 
second parallel. Among the measures of Congress 
was one characteristic of the wild-cat schemes in- 
vented by adventurers and land speculators. An act 
was passed to incorporate the Texas Railroad, Navi- 
gation, and Banking Company, of which Branch T. 



WILD-CAT SCHEME 231 

Archer was president. The company was given ex- 
traordinary and monopolistic powers. It was allowed 
to discount 130,000,000 upon a cai3ital of $10,000,- 
000, to build railroads and canals from the Sabine to 
the Rio Grande and regulate its own charges, to lay 
out town sites with extensive land grants, and in 
general to control the future business and develop- 
ment of Texas. For these enormous privileges, it 
agreed to pay a bonus of only $25,000 into the trea- 
sury. The scheme was a gigantic fraud and confi- 
dence game. The capital stock was subscribed, but 
none of the money was paid in. The fictitious shares 
were sold and traded as elements of a swindle. An 
attempt was made to bribe Houston by sending him 
a share of the stock, but he returned it, and vigor- 
ously opposed the bill. The charter, of course, was 
eventually forfeited by the failure of the subscribers 
to comply with its conditions. After a session of two 
months Congress adjourned, to meet May 1 at Hous- 
ton, the newly founded city at the head of Buffalo 
Bayou, which was declared the capital. 

One of the pressing questions was the disposition 
to be made of Santa Anna. When Houston arrived 
at Columbia, previous to his inauguration, Santa 
Anna sent a request for him to come and see him, 
and Houston did so. The prisoner was much af- 
fected. He embraced Houston, and wept as his head 
rested on Houston's broad chest. Houston patted 
him and consoled him as he would a frightened child. 
He procured Santa Anna some additional comforts, 



232 SAM HOUSTON 

and promised to do liis utmost to secure his release. 
He sent a memorandum to Santa Anna, in which he 
suggested that he should communicate with President 
Jackson, expressing his willingness to favor the an- 
nexation of Texas to the United States, and to urge 
Jackson to become responsible for the fulfillment of 
Santa Anna's stipulations to the people of Texas. 
He advised him to maintain his authority as Presi- 
dent of Mexico, although a prisoner, and to issue his 
instructions to the Mexican minister at Washington 
accordingly. After the inauguration, Santa Anna 
addressed a letter to the President petitioning for his 
release, which was referred to Congress. The mem- 
bers of Congress shared the prevailing indignation 
against Santa Anna, and passed a resolution that he 
should be retained as a prisoner. Houston vetoed 
the bill, and, after an excited debate, the question 
was left to the decision of the President. In the 
mean time. President Jackson had responded in 
kindly terms to Santa Anna's appeal for his media- 
tion, and invited him to visit Washington on his 
release. Houston decided to release the prisoner at 
once, and send him to Washington with an escort. 
Santa Anna and his party set out for Washington on 
November 25, by way of New Orleans. He was 
entertained at dinner by President Jackson, and sent 
by an American man-of-war to Vera Cruz, where he 
arrived February 23, 1837. He found that he had 
fallen into complete disfavor, and retired to his estate 
at Mango del Clavo. His old rival Bustamente, hav- 



RECOGNITION OF TEXAS 233 

ing been recalled from exile, was triumpliantly chosen 
President at the ensuing election in March, Santa 
Anna receiving but two votes. It is an evidence of 
Santa Anna's inherent meanness of character that he 
borrowed 12000 from Colonel Bernard E. Bee, one 
of his escort, for which he gave a draft. On his re- 
turn home he allowed the draft to be protested, and 
never paid the debt. His more honorable enemies 
did it for him; the legislature of Texas afterward 
made an appropriation to indemnify Colonel Bee. 

The question of the recognition of the indepen- 
dence of Texas by the United States caused a good 
deal of political excitement in that country, and was 
the beginning of the prolonged and violent agitation 
which accompanied the project of annexation. While 
the majority of the people of the United States un- 
doubtedly were proud of the courage of their kins- 
men in Texas, and enthusiastic over the prospects of 
their independence, the shadow of the extension of 
the slave power, foreboded by annexation, alarmed 
the Northern politicians, and alienated a portion of 
the people. The stories against the character of the 
Texan colonists were revived, and the revolt was 
again attributed to a filibuster conspiracy. There 
were some prudent suggestions that the recognition of 
the independence of Texas would bring on a war with 
Mexico, but as a whole the opj)osition was generated 
by political means, and the majority of the people 
of the United States were really in favor of it. 
Commissioner Morfitt had returned, and made a fa- 



234 SAM HOUSTON 

vorable report as to the condition of Texas. He esti- 
mated the population of the country at about 58,000, 
of whom 30,000 were Americans or Europeans, 3670 
Mexicans, 5000 negroes, and 20,000 Indians, exact 
figures being, of course, unobtainable in regard to 
the Indians. He described the colonists to be in a 
condition to maintain their independence, and pointed 
out that their character and habits enabled them to 
carry on a war with but little cost to themselves. He 
estimated the debts and obligations of Texas at about 
$1,250,000. President Jackson, notwithstanding his 
strong sympathies with the people of Texas, and his 
desire and expectation of the ultimate annexation of 
the territory, expressed himself in a very conservative 
manner in his communication to Congress. In trans- 
mitting the report of Commissioner Morfitt he said 
in regard to annexation, "Necessarily a work of time, 
and uncertain in itself, it is calculated to expose our 
conduct to misconstruction in the eyes of the world." 
On December 23, he sent a message to Congress in 
regard to the recognition of the independence of 
Texas, in which he said that "prudence would dictate 
that the United States should stand aloof until the 
independence of Texas had been recognized by Mex- 
ico, or one of the great foreign powers, or until 
events should have proved beyond dispute the ability 
of the people to maintain their independent sover- 
eignty."- He, however, referred the matter to the dis- 
cretion of Congress, and intimated that he would be 
governed by its decision. On the 11th of January, 



TEXAS RECOGNIZED 235 

Hon. Robert J. Walker, Senator from Mississippi, 
introduced a resolution for the recognition of Texas 
as an independent nation. The question was post- 
poned until March 1, when the resolution was taken 
up. After a warm debate, in which speeches in favor 
of recognition were made by Clay, Calhoun, Benton, 
Preston, and others, the resolution was adopted by a 
vote of twenty-four to nineteen. The vote was not 
on strict sectional or party lines. Senators King, of 
Georgia, and King, of Alabama, and other Southern 
members, voting against recognition. An attempt 
was made to reconsider the vote the next day, and it 
only failed by a vote of twenty-four to twenty -four. 
President Jackson approved the resolution as the last 
act of his official life. Secretary of State Forsyth 
informed Minister Wharton that the question of an- 
nexation could not then be considered by the United 
States government. 

General Henderson, the Texan minister, was fa- 
vorably received by the British government, although 
the Anti-Slavery Society promptly protested against 
the independence of Texas, on the ground that Mex- 
ico had declared the abolition of slavery, while 
the American colonists maintained it. The British 
ministry agreed to make a special commercial treaty 
with Texas, although for the time being it refused to 
recognize her independence from Mexico. A simi- 
lar arrangement was made with the government of 
France, and the French minister at Washington was 
directed to send a commissioner to Texas to examine 
and report on the condition of the country. 



236 SAM HOUSTON 

In accordance with his settled policy Houston ap- 
pointed commissioners to visit the various tribes of 
Indians, and arrange for treaties of friendship and 
alliance. No difficulty had occurred, except with the 
Caddoes, who had recently entered the territory from 
the United States, and had been committing some 
depredations upon the outlying settlers. Mexican 
agents had been busy among the Indian tribes, en- 
deavoring to induce them to commence hostilities 
against the colonists. A delegation of twenty from 
the Northern Indians had been persuaded to visit 
Matamoras to form a treaty with Mexico for that 
purpose. But Houston's reputation was well estab- 
lished among all the Indians as the friendly white 
chief, and the efforts of the Mexican authorities to 
engage them in definite warfare with the colonists 
were unavailing. No trouble occurred from the In- 
dians during his term as President, except the indi- 
vidual collisions and inevitable depredations and 
aggressions on both sides which accompany the con- 
tact of the two races. Although friendly to the In- 
dians, Houston knew their unstable nature and the 
perils of the situation, and maintained companies of 
rangers to punish thefts and attacks, and encouraged 
the building of block-houses upon the frontier. 

Congress reassembled on May 1, and Houston sent 
them an elaborate and business-like message. He 
congratulated them on the recognition of the inde- 
pendence of Texas by the United States, and said, 
" We now occupy the proud attitude of a sovereign 



HOUSTON'S MESSAGE 237 

and independent Republic, wliicli will force upon us 
the obligation of evincing to the world that we are 
worthy to be free." He urged that their legislation 
should be not only for present emergencies, but for 
a permanent system adapted to the future growth and 
development of the country. The finances of the 
Eepublic were the most pressing subject of attention. 
None of the authorized 15,000,000 loan had been 
raised in the United States, owing to the depressed 
condition of the money market; and the sales of the 
land scrip had not been productive, owing, as the 
President believed, to the mismanagement of the 
agents in New Orleans and Mobile, who had ren- 
dered no account of their transactions, and had al- 
lowed drafts upon them to go to protest. Claims 
upon the treasury had only been met by promises to 
pay when in funds, and were sold to speculators at 
a heavy discount. The land law, passed at the last 
session over the President's veto, had proved imprac- 
ticable and unsatisfactory, and he recommended mea- 
sures for ascertaining the location of all the occupied 
lands in the country to prevent litigation about titles. 
He spoke strongly in regard to the African slave 
trade. He declared that there was evidence that 
thousands of slaves had been imported to the island 
of Cuba for the purpose of being transferred to 
Texas. The Texan minister had been instructed to 
report the facts to the United States government. 
The navy of Texas was necessary for its immediate 
defense, and it was the duty of the United States and 



238 SAM HOUSTON 

of England to employ a portion of their force in the 
GuK to arrest the accursed traffic. Nothing had 
occurred in regard to the question of annexation, but 
it was hoped that the next session of the Congress of 
the United States would take up the subject in a 
friendly spirit. England had given indications of 
friendliness and good- will to the new Republic. No 
change had taken place in the relations between 
Texas and Mexico. Texas was confident that she 
could maintain her rights, and was not willing to in- 
voke the mediation of other powers. Mexico, while 
apparently determined to protract the war, was torn by 
internal convulsions, and unable to defend her fron- 
tier against the attacks of predatory Indians. The 
army of Texas was in a good condition, and able to 
meet any invading force brought against it. Al- 
though Mexico had refused to enter into any arrange- 
ment for the exchange of prisoners, he recommended 
the release, upon parole, of the Mexican soldiers still 
detained in the country. 

Although Houston had spoken favorably of the 
condition of the Texan army, it was still disorgan- 
ized and turbulent, and he took measures to reduce 
and practically disband it. General Felix Huston 
had succeeded to the command on the retirement of 
General Rusk, who had been appointed Secretary of 
War in Houston's Cabinet. He had no capacity or 
training as a soldier, and acted merely as the leader 
of an armed and turbulent mob. General James 
Hamilton, who had been governor of South Carolina, 



GENERAL FELIX HUSTON 289 

and had manifested an active interest in the Texan 
struggle for independence, was invited to take com- 
mand of the army, but declined. Albert Sidney 
Johnston, who had recently resigned from the United 
States army and come to Texas after the battle of 
San Jacinto, had joined Rusk's army as a private. 
His soldierly appearance and manifest ability caused 
him to be promoted to be adjutant-general, and, after 
the refusal of General Hamilton to accept the com- 
mand, he was appointed by President Houston the 
senior brigadier-general. General Felix Huston had 
indicated his intention of retaining the command by 
the summary process of challenging and shooting 
any one who should be appointed to displace him. 
When Johnston arrived with his commission on the 
4th of February, Huston promptly challenged him, 
and, in the duel which took place the following day, 
Johnston was severely wounded in the hip and inca- 
pacitated from further service. No one was found to 
accept the command at the cost of fighting so dan- 
gerous a duelist as Huston, and he retained his posi- 
tion at the head of the army. He was full of schemes 
for the invasion of Mexico, and at the opening of the 
session of Congress in May he repaired to the capitol 
to obtain authority for an attack upon Matamoras. 
Houston determined to put a stop to all such foolish 
enterprises, and to get rid of an army which was not 
only a heavy expense, but a peril to the maintenance 
of the civil government. Under the influence of their 
commander the volunteers had threatened to "chastise 



240 SAM HOUSTON 

the President, kick Congress out of doors, and give 
laws to Texas." Among General Huston's ideas of 
maintaining his popularity with the soldiers was to 
indulge them occasionally in general sprees, which 
usually wound up in a free fight in which several 
vv^ould be killed. The President was convinced that 
the unsettled government and internal troubles of 
Mexico would prevent any serious attempt at inva- 
sion, and that an impromptu levy of the colonists 
would make a better army, if necessar}?", than the 
undisciplined and dangerous force of foreign adven- 
turers collected at San Antonio. While General 
Huston was urging the Matamoras expedition upon 
the members of Congress, the President, on May 18, 
issued orders to the Secretary of War to proceed 
secretly and swiftly to headquarters, and furlough all 
the companies except 600 men. There was no leader 
to resist the order, and the volunteers were appar- 
ently wearied of an adventure which promised neither 
profit nor glory. They were marched to various 
ports on the coast, and took their departure for the 
United States under a furlough to return within 
thirty days if called for. General Huston, deprived 
of his armed mob, returned soon afterward to the 
United States. General Johnston was retained in 
the command, with a furlough- to enable him to re- 
cover from his wound. There is no doubt that, if 
the finances of the country had been able to sustain 
the expense, the maintenance of a well-organized and 
disciplined army would have been of advantage to 



CONDITIONS OF THE TIME 241 

Texas, and prevented the occasional raids by the 
Mexicans which afterward took place. But the 
treasury was empty, and the army could only have 
been paid by the issue of irredeemable paper money, 
with its certainty of bringing bankruptcy and repudi- 
ation. The army was mainly composed of lawless 
and adventurous volunteers who were ready for any 
mischievous enterprise that would have driven Mexico 
into active hostilities. And the temperament of the 
Congress was neither stable nor judicious enough to 
make it sure that it would exercise a restraining in- 
fluence. In the mean time, immigration was coming 
into the country, strengthening its resources and 
means of defense, and every day in which fighting 
could be avoided was an advantage. Already trade 
was being renewed along the Mexican frontier, in 
spite of the hostile attitudes of the two governments, 
and there was a chance that there would be no further 
war. 

The condition of the land grants had made a great 
deal of trouble. The locations of the leaofues and 
labors under the Mexican system had conflicted with 
the grants by acres under the new government, and 
many of the old settlers had resisted the change. 
The empresario grants, which had been used for spec- 
ulative purposes, had, created a host of fictitious 
claims, many of them held by innocent persons who 
had been swindled in buying the scrip. The acts of 
the last legislature of Coahuila and Texas in dispos- 
ing of large portions of land in Texas at nominal 



242 SAM HOUSTON 

prices, although repudiated, had produced another 
batch of claims. The laws giving the preference in 
locations to volunteers, and the negotiations of public 
land scrip in the United States, created additional 
confusion. A large portion of the time of Congress 
was devoted to struggling with this question. Hous- 
ton vetoed several unsatisfactory and mischievous 
bills, and it was not until the close of the last session 
that the land office was opened under intelligent and 
practicable regulations. 

The total lack of money was the most serious bur- 
den upon the new government. The collapse of the 
banking system in the United States, and the conse- 
quent financial distress, had prevented any success in 
negotiating a general loan. The sales of public land 
scrip produced little or nothing, owing to the confu- 
sion of titles and the doubt as to whether Texas could 
maintain her independeiice. It would appear that 
Houston shared the general delusion in regard to the 
means to be expected from this source, and blamed 
the agents for mismanagement when there was really 
no demand for the lands which was not more than 
supplied by the sales and trades of individual grants. 
The treasury remained empty, and the audited claims 
were used as currency or hawked about at a ruinous 
discount. On June 6, the President was obliged to 
send a special message to Congress, calling attention 
to the condition of the quartermaster's department of 
the army. He said that the government was unable 
to obtain any supplies upon its own credit, and the 



FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES 243 

Executive had been compelled to give his individual 
obligation, indorsed by some of the members. A 
part of the army was in an actual state of mutiny for 
the want of provisions, and Galveston Island would 
have been deserted but for the relief thus obtained. 
Since he came into office the President had received 
only 1500 for provisions for the troops. The public 
officers had received no salary, and had tendered 
their resignations from time to time on account of 
being unable to meet their expenses. Congress did 
the best it could by passing financial acts, but it was 
like trying to run a mill without water. There were 
the usual attempts of new and impoverished countries 
to create money by fiat legislation. In May, Con- 
gress passed an act authorizing the issue of promis- 
sory notes to the amount of 11,000,000. This was 
vetoed by the President, on the ground that half that 
amount was all that was necessary for a circulating 
medium or could be kept at par. The issue was re- 
stricted to ^500,000, but a bill was passed authoriz- 
ing the President to reissue the notes, as they were 
returned to the treasury, in his discretion, to an 
amount not to exceed 11,000,000. At the close of 
Houston's administration the promissory notes, which 
stood at about sixty -five cents on the dollar, amounted 
to '1739,789. The total indebtedness, including au- 
dited claims, amounted to r|l, 942,000. The customs 
duties, which were the only source of reliable revenue, 
amounted to 8278,134 for the last year. The record 
of Texan finance, under the circumstances, was a cred- 



244 SAM HOUSTON 

itable one, and it was Houston's firm hand and saga- 
cious judgment, restraining extravagance and pre- 
venting false financial schemes, which kept down the 
indebtedness, and enabled the government to carry 
on its operations without collapse. 

Among the events of the year was the loss of the 
Texan vessel the Independence, which was captured 
April 17, about thirty miles off Velasco, by two Mex- 
ican vessels, the Libertador and the Yincedor del 
Alamo. After a severe fight of two hours, the Inde- 
pendence surrendered, and was taken to Matamoras. 
On board was Colonel William H. Wharton, the 
Texan minister to the United States, who was return- 
ing home. His brother. Colonel John A. Wharton, 
was sent with thirty Mexican prisoners, to obtain the 
release of the captives by exchange. He was thrown 
into prison by the Mexican authorities, but both the 
Whartons and the other prisoners eventually effected 
their escape by the aid of friends in Matamoras. 
The British vessel Ellen Russell was captured in 
the Gulf by a Texan vessel, on suspicion of being 
laden with contraband of war, but proved to have 
only merchandise. She was released by President 
Houston, and an indemnity afterward paid by the 
government. 

Lorenzo de Zavala, who had been elected Vice- 
President in the Provisional Government of Texas, 
died at his residence near San Jacinto, November 15. 
Zavala was a man of strong patriotic impulses, and 
more than ordinary capacity and integrity, who, un- 



''THE FATHER OF TEXAS'' 245 

der better circumstances, would liave exercised a 
commanding and wliolesome influence on the affairs 
of Mexico. He would not submit to the tyranny of 
Santa Anna, and fled to Texas, where he entered 
heartily into the struggle for independence. Al- 
though a Mexican, he was highly esteemed by the 
Texan leaders for his integrity and sincerity, as well 
as for his courage and sagacity. Stephen F. Austin 
died at Columbia, December 27, from an attack of 
pneumonia. He was but forty-three years of age. 
Austin was a man of the highest character, of judicial 
moderation and prudence, as well as energy and per- 
severance. He appreciated the conditions on which 
alone a permanent and prosperous colony could be 
founded, and carried them out with rare tact and 
sagacity. He encouraged industry, and governed the 
lawless elements of the population by his weight of 
character and personal influence. To him more than 
to any other is due the creation of an American State 
in Texas. He was forced into political prominence 
by the demands of the time rather than any desire 
of his own, and was as modest and self-sacrificing as 
he was sagacious and practical. Public honors were 
paid at his funeral by the President and members of 
Congress, and the remains were taken on the steamer 
Yellowstone to Peach Point, near the mouth of the 
Brazos. President Houston issued an address begin- 
ning, "The Father of Texas is no more," and order- 
ing all officers, civil and military, to wear crape for 
thirty days, in honor of his memory. 



246 SAM HOUSTON 

Houston's manner of life as President of the Ee- 
public of Texas was a singular compound of ceremo- 
nial dignity and frontier primitiveness, mucli like that 
of an aboriginal potentate. He lived in a log cabin 
in the frank and ready familiarity with all comers 
which the times compelled, and which suited his gen- 
ius for popularity. But he put on the airs of state 
on occasion, and is reported to have worn a sort of 
velvet robe, which must have been in singular contrast 
to the furniture and appearance of the audience 
chamber, when he gave formal audience to the agents 
of foreign nations. He still kept up his drinking 
habits, and was king of the riots, as well as of the 
counsels, of his vigorous and boisterous associates, 
without losing his sense of dignity or their respect. 
An interesting glimpse of' Houston and his surround- 
ings is given through the keenly observant eyes of 
Audubon, the naturalist, who visited the town of 
Houston in May, 1837. He says in his diary: — 

"We walked toward the President's house, accom- 
panied by the Secretary of the Navy, and as soon as 
we rose above the bank we saw before us a level of 
far-extending prairie, destitute of timber and rather 
poor soil. Houses, half finished, and most of them 
without roofs, tents, and a liberty pole, with the cap- 
itol, were all exhibited to our view at once. We 
approached the President's mansion, however, wad- 
ing in water above our ankles. This abode of Presi- 
dent Houston is a small log house, consisting of two 
rooms and a passage through, after the Southern 



AUDUBON'S IMPRESSIONS 247 

fashion. The moment we stepped over the threshold, 
on the right hand of the passage, we found ourselves 
ushered into what in other countries would be called 
the ante-chamber; the ground floor, however, was 
muddy and filthy, a large fire was burning, and a 
small table, covered with paper and writing materials, 
was in the centre; camp beds, trunks, and different 
materials were strewed around the room. We were 
at once presented to several members of the Cabinet, 
some of whom bore the stamp of men of intellectual 
ability, simple, though bold, in their general appear- 
ance. Here we were presented to Mr. Crawford, an 
agent of the British minister to Mexico, who has 
come here on some secret mission. 

"The President was engaged in the opposite room 
on some national business, and we could not see him 
for some time. Meanwhile, we amused ourselves by 
walking in the capitol, which was yet without a roof, 
and the floors, benches, and tables of both houses of 
Congress were as well saturated with water as our 
clothes had been in the morning. Being invited by 
one of the great men of the place to enter a booth to 
take a drink of grog with him, we did so ; but I was 
rather surprised that he offered his name instead of 
the cash to the bar-keeper. 

"We first caught sight of President Houston as he 
walked from one of the grog-shops, where he had 
been to stop the sale of ardent spirits. He was on 
his way to his house, and wore a large, gray, coarse 
hat, and the bulk of his figure reminded me of the 



248 SAM HOUSTON 

appearance of General Hopkins, of Virginia, for, like 
him, he is upward of six feet high and strong in pro- 
portion. But I observed a scowl in the expression of 
his eyes that was forbidding and disagreeable. We 
reached his abode before him, but he soon came, and 
we were presented to his Excellency. He was 
dressed in a fancy velvet coat and trousers trimmed 
with broad gold lace, and around his neck was tied a 
cravat somewhat in the style of '76. He received us 
kindly, was desirous of retaining us for a while, and 
offered us every facility in his power. He at once 
removed us from the ante-room to his private cham- 
ber, which, by the way, was not much cleaner than 
the former. We were severally introduced by him 
to the different members of his Cabinet and Staff, 
and at once asked to drink grog with him, which we 
did, wishing success to the new Republic. Our talk 
was short, but the impression which was made on our 
mind at the time by himself, his officers, and the 
place of his abode can never be forgotten." 

Houston was married for the second time in Mar- 
ion, Alabama, May 9, 1840, to Miss Margaret 
Moffette Lea. He was then forty-seven years of age, 
his bride twenty-one. The second Mrs. Houston 
was a lady of good family, force of character, amia- 
bility, and considerable literary talent. She was 
aware of Houston's weaknesses in habits when she 
married him, and was confident that she could influ- 
ence him for the better. She did so, and he reformed 
his habits of drinking and swearing, until finally they 
were abandoned altogether. 



CHAPTER XIII 

SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT — ANNEXATION 

The Constitution of the Eepublic made the Presi- 
dent ineligible for two succeeding terms. There were 
three candidates in the field for the succession to 
Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, the Vice-President, 
Peter W. Grayson, and James Collingsworth. The 
contest was a very bitter one, and virulent personal 
attacks were made against the candidates. Just be- 
fore the election Grayson committed suicide by shoot- 
ing himself at Bean's Station, Tennessee, and Col- 
lingsworth by throwing himself from a steamer into 
Galveston Bay. Lamar was elected President, and 
David G. Burnett Vice-President. Lamar was a 
man of extravagant ideas, and regarded Texas as an 
established empire, with all the possibilities of terri- 
torial expansion, unlimited wealth, and military and 
naval conquest. He was inaugurated December 8, 
1838. In his address he declared himself emphati- 
cally against annexation to the United States, and 
drew a glowing picture of the advantages that would 
accrue to Texas from maintaining her own autonomy. 
In his first message to Congress he recommended the 
establishment of a national bank, to be founded on 
the hypothecation of a specific portion of the public 



250 SAM HOUSTON 

domain, the guarantee of tlie plighted faith of the 
nation, and an adequate deposit of specie or its 
"equivalent." The specie, or its equivalent, was not 
forthcoming, and the bank was not organized. 

Lamar's policy in regard to the Indians was the 
direct opposite of that of Houston. He declared 
that they were public enemies or intruders, and had 
no rights to the soil. If any grants had been made 
to them by the Mexican government they had been 
extorted by fear of the tomahawk and the scalping 
knife, and therefore void. The "solemn declara- 
tion " made by the Convention of 1835 had never 
been ratified, and in any case was void because the 
Indians had not fulfilled their part of its obligations 
by keeping quiet. He denounced the Indians as pes- 
tilent and merciless enemies to the settlers, and de- 
clared in favor of a war against them, which "would 
admit of no compromise, and have no termination 
except in their total extinction or total expulsion." 
There is no doubt that Lamar's policy in regard to 
the Indians was in accordance with the wishes of the 
majority of the white settlers. They regarded the 
aboriginal inhabitants simply as noxious wild beasts, 
who ought to be cleared from the land like wolves. 
Constant collisions took place as the restless colonists 
pushed farther and farther into the interior, and the 
wild Indians were naturally predatory and barbarous. 
Those who were partially civilized, like the Chero- 
kees, occupied rich lands which the settlers coveted, 
and there was little respect for Indian occupancy or 



LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATION 251 

agreement as to boundaries. It is one of the most 
creditable features in Houston's character that he 
opposed the prevailing animosity of the people against 
the Indians, and persisted, so far as he had power or 
influence, in a system of justice and protection of 
their rights. An occasion for active operations against 
the Indians was not long wanting. General Cana- 
lezo, who had succeeded to Filisola in command of 
the troops on the Rio Grande, endeavored to stir up 
the Indians to active hostilities against the colonists. 
He sent one Manuel Flores as agent to the Cherokees 
and other tribes, with letters to the chiefs urging 
them to war. Flores and his party were discovered 
and attacked near Austin by a number of the colo- 
nists. Flores was killed, and his letters fell into the 
hands of the Texans. Although there was no evi- 
dence that the Cherokee chiefs had made, or were 
likely to make, any agreement with the Mexicans, it 
was assumed that the danger was pressing, and that 
the tribe must be expelled from the country. A 
force was organized by General Albert Sidney John- 
ston, the Secretary of War, consisting of Colonel 
Burleson's regiment, which had been fighting the 
prairie Indians in the West, and volunteer companies 
under General Rusk and Colonel Landrum, from the 
eastern settlements, the whole under the command of 
General K. H. Douglass. The Indians were in- 
formed in "a firm but friendly manner," by General 
Johnston, that they must leave the country and sur- 
render their gunlocks. They refused. They were 



252 SAM HOUSTON 

attacked by the troops on July 14, 1839, near the 
Cherokee village, and defeated in a sharp engage- 
ment. They rallied the following day and were 
again defeated, Bowles, their war chief, being killed. 
The troops then advanced against the Shawnees, who 
surrendered without a battle. The Texans burned 
the cabins and laid waste the cornfields of both these 
tribes, and the Indians withdrew across the Red 
Kiver, or scattered to the northern prairies, where 
they formed hostile and predatory bands against the 
settlements. Houston was absent from the country 
on a visit to the United States when this raid took 
place. He had protested against the repudiation of 
the "solemn declaration" in Congress, but without 
avail. On his return, he addressed the citizens of 
Nacogdoches, who were unanimous in favor of the 
expulsion of the Cherokees. The most violent 
charges were made against him, and he was accused 
of inciting the Indians to resist the government. 
Threats were made that he would be shot if he at- 
tempted to speak. He came forward and stilled the 
crowd by his commanding presence. He denounced 
the administration for its breach of plighted faith, 
and accused the soldiers of barbarity in mutilating 
the body of Bowles. The audience listened in si- 
lence, and Houston's courage and sincerity triumphed 
over their tumultuous passions. 

Trouble broke out with the Comanches from a 
more reasonable cause. These haughty and untam- 
able Indians had been accustomed to domineer over 



LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATION 253 

the timorous Mexicans, and to conduct their negotia- 
tions in a very masterful and contemptuous fashion. 
A delegation of the chiefs of the tribe came into San 
Antonio to arrange a treaty of peace with the Texan 
commissioners on March 11, 1840. They had agreed 
to bring in their captives, but only surrendered Ma- 
tilda Lockhart, a little girl. They alleged that the 
other twelve prisoners whom they were known to 
possess had been captured by other tribes. The 
Lockhart girl said that the other captives were de- 
tained for ransom in the Indian camp near the town. 
The chiefs were informed that all the white captives 
must be brought in, and that they would be detained 
as prisoners until they were. A company of soldiers 
was brought into the council room to keep them under 
guard. The chiefs shouted the war-whoop and drew 
their knives. A desperate melee took place in the 
room, in which the Indians were all killed. The 
warriors on the outside took the alarm, and com- 
menced to shoot. There was a running fight in the 
streets of the town, in which a number of Indians, 
including squaws, were killed. The Comanches were 
deeply enraged at the slaughter of their chiefs, and 
determined to avenge it. On the 4th of August, a 
raiding party of 600 swept down upon the country, 
and attacked Victoria. They were repulsed, but 
gathered a great booty of horses and cattle, and mas- 
sacred a number of the outlying settlers. They then 
surprised and burned the little town of Linnville on 
the coast, most of the inhabitants escaping in boats 



254 SAM HOUSTON 

and lighters off shore into the harbor. As the Indi- 
ans were returning with their booty, they were fol- 
lowed and attacked by a body of troops raised among 
the settlers. A battle took place on Plum Creek, in 
which the Indians were routed and scattered. The 
government determined to carry the war into the 
Comanche country. The force under Colonel John 
H. Moore attacked the principal village of the tribe, 
on the Ked fork of the Colorado, October 23. It 
was surrounded at daybreak and surprised. Men, 
women, and children, were indiscriminately slaugh- 
tered, and the village burned. The entire Comanche 
nation was exasperated, and a desolating warfare 
raged on the frontier during the whole of Lamar's 
term of office. Companies of rangers were main- 
tained in service during the period at a great ex- 
pense, and the frontier settlements were kept in con- 
tinual turmoil and peril as the result of the President's 
"vigorous Indian policy." 

Lamar had no less extensive views in regard to the 
naval operations of the Republic. In 1838, Mexico 
had been engaged in a war with France Over the 
claims of French citizens. The French fleet had 
bombarded and taken Vera Cruz, and in an attempt 
to drive them out, Santa Anna had lost his leg, and 
recovered his popularity. Yucatan had also revolted, 
and was endeavoring to gain its independence. The 
Texan navy of four vessels had entirely disappeared 
at the beginning of Lamar's administration. One 
was captured, one sunk, and the other two condemned 



LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATION 255 

as imseaworthy. Appropriations of imaginary funds 
were made on an extensive scale for the purchase of 
a new fleet. The steamer Zavala, mounting eight 
guns, the sloop-of-war Austin, twenty guns, two 
brigs, the Colorado and Dolphin, and three schoon- 
ers, the San Bernard, San Antonio, and San Ja- 
cinto, were purchased on credit. The fleet was put 
under the command of Commodore E. W. Moore, 
and sent to Yucatan to aid the insurgents. 

The Federalists in the Northern States of Mexico 
had taken advantage of the disturbances to organize 
a revolt. An adventurer by the name of Canales 
undertook to found a Federal Republic in North 
Mexico in alliance with Texas, and persuaded a 
number of Texans, under Colonels Koss and Jordan, 
to join him in an invasion across the Rio Grande. 
They were mere filibusters without the authorization 
of the Texan government. The expedition shared 
the usual fate of the invasions of Mexico, in arousing 
the hostility of the inhabitants and experiencing the 
treachery of their allies. After fighting several bat- 
tles and occupying several towns, they were deserted 
on the field of Saltillo by their allies, but fought 
their way through the enemy, and retreated in safety 
to Texas. 

Lamar's great scheme, however, was the conquest 
or occupation of New Mexico. An expedition was 
organized among the adventurers, who had been dis- 
appointed in the failures to invade Mexico, and Con- 
gress was asked to authorize and make an appropria- 



256 SAM HOUSTON 

tion for it. Houston, who was a Representative from 
Nacogdoches, was strongly opposed to it. The de- 
bate had gone on apparently in its favor, and the 
usual fiery and flamboyant speeches had been made 
about planting the Lone Star flag on the cathedral 
towers of Santa Fe. When they had been concluded, 
Houston, who had been sitting on one of the back 
benches, engaged in his usual habit of whittling, 
rose, and with his practical sense and humorous 
illustration demolished the scheme. He pointed out 
the folly of the expedition across 600 miles of unin- 
habited country, and the mistake of expecting that 
the people of New Mexico, who were thoroughly 
Mexicans in their education and sympathies, would 
receive the invaders otherwise than as enemies. Such 
an expedition would inevitably arouse the active hos- 
tility of Mexico and provoke an invasion on the west- 
ern frontier. Houston took up the arguments of the 
advocates of the expedition, one after another, and 
answered them. Coming to the speech of Isaac Yan 
Zandt, who had spoken in a very "high-falutin " 
style, he used one of those familiar illustrations 
which were a feature of his command over a fron- 
tier audience. He said, "A Tennessee neighbor once 
stationed his negro, Caesar, with a rifle at a deer 
drive, and told him to shoot when the animal broke 
cover. The deer sprang out, but the rifle made no 
sound. When Caesar was cursed for not shooting, 
he replied, 'Lord a mighty, massa, dat buck jump so 
high, I think he break his own neck. ' So with my 



LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATION 257 

young friend Yan Zandt; lie jumps so liigh in his 
speecli tliat lie breaks his own neck, and it is not 
necessary to shoot at him." Houston's arguments 
prevailed, and Congress refused to authorize the ex- 
pedition. 

Lamar, however, persisted, and took the authority 
which Congress had refused to grant him. He or- 
dered the Secretary of War to issue arms for the 
troops, and the brass six-pounder was stamped with 
the conquering name of "Mirabeau B. Lamar." He 
issued a proclamation to the people of New Mexico 
inviting them to become citizens of the Republic of 
Texas, and to acknowledge its laws. He attempted 
to disguise the warlike purpose of the expedition by 
announcing that no attempt would be made to subju- 
gate the country, but only to establish friendly com- 
mercial relations with the people in case they did not 
wish to unite with Texas. Its military form was 
only intended for defense against the Indians. The 
expedition started from the neighborhood of Austin 
June 1, 1841. It numbered about 270 soldiers with 
a number of teamsters and traders, and three com- 
missioners to treat with the people of New Mexico. 
It was under the command of General Hugh McLeod, 
and President Lamar bade it farewell with his usual 
outburst of classical oratory. The expedition started 
too late. It was oppressively hot, and the grass was 
poor. The guides lost their way, provisions gave 
out, and the party was harassed by hostile Indians. 
As the expedition, after great suffering, approached 



258 SAM HOUSTON 

the border of New Mexico, a party on the strongest 
horses was sent forward to procure relief and provi- 
sions from the people whom they had come to con- 
quer. They were made prisoners, and forwarded to 
Governor Armigo at Santa Fe. Troops were sent 
against the remainder of the exj^edition, who upon 
false promises of safety and return home laid down 
their arms and surrendered. The prisoners were 
treated with great barbarity. Some of them were 
shot for attempting to escape, and the others were 
marched on foot to the City of Mexico, where they 
were confined in the prisons or made to work with 
the criminals on the public roads, until they were 
finally released by the interposition of the foreign 
ministers. So ended the scheme for the conquest of 
New Mexico, which, beside its original loss, had a 
very bad effect upon public opinion in the United 
States. Jackson wrote to Houston, "The wild-goose 
chase to Santa Fe was a very ill-judged affair, and 
the surrender without the fire of a gun has lowered 
the prowess of the Texans in the minds of the Mexi- 
cans." 

General James Hamilton had been appointed min- 
ister to Great Britain and France. He concluded a 
convention with Lord Palmerston for the recognition 
of the independence of Texas, on the condition that 
Texas would assume fl, 000, 000 of the debt due by 
Mexico to the English bond-holders. The English 
Anti-Slavery Society sent its formal protest to Lord 
Palmerston, to which he replied with his usual civil 



LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATION 259 

insolence, and tlie official intimation that they were a 
set of idiots. Daniel O'Connell announced his pur- 
pose to interrogate the ministry on the matter, and 
proposed a scheme for settling free negroes from the 
British colonies in Texas under the protection of 
Mexico. France followed the example of Great 
Britain, and acknowledged the independence of 
Texas, as did also Holland and Belgium. General 
Hamilton had also been appointed a commissioner to 
negotiate the five million loan, and attempted to ob- 
tain the subscriptions of European bankers. He had 
sanguine hopes of success at one time, and announced 
that he had made arrangements with the house of 
Lafitte and Company, of Paris, to open books for the 
loan. The negotiations fell through, and their fail- 
ure was charged to the adverse influence of M. Hu- 
mann, the French Minister of Finance, who had been 
prejudiced by M. de Saligny, the charge d'affaires in 
Texas. M. de Saligny had withdrawn in dudgeon, 
because of a quarrel with Mr. Bullock, an inn -keeper 
of Austin, in which he considered that the Texan au- 
thorities had not treated him with becoming respect. 
It appears that Bullock's pigs intruded into the stable 
and ate up the corn of M. de Saligny' s horses. 
Saligny's servant killed one of the pigs, and Bullock 
horsewhipped the servant. Saligny entered a com- 
plaint against Bullock, and Bullock ordered him out 
of his hotel. Saligny applied to the Secretary of 
State for redress, and failing to get it left the coun- 
try. This was the story to account for the failure of 



260 SAM HOUSTON 

the French loan, but probably the financial condition 
and prospects of Texas were a more sufficient reason. 
At any rate, General Hamilton completely failed with 
the European capitalists, and Texas was spared the 
additional burden of a loan which would probably 
have been wasted in extravagance. 

The finances of Texas sank to a frightful condition 
under Lamar's administration. There was no rev- 
enue except from the customs duties; but as these 
were receivable in government money they simply 
canceled so much indebtedness without bringing in 
any available funds. The public land sales amounted 
to practically nothing, and the sole resource was the 
issue of the government promissory notes, called 
"red-backs." These were issued of all denomina- 
tions down to twelve and a half cents, and fell in 
value until they were worth no more than two cents 
on the dollar, or would not be received at all. It is 
to the credit of the Texan government, and about 
the sole financial folly which it did not commit, that 
it did not attempt to make its notes legal tender, and 
to compel their circulation under penalties of the law, 
as was done later under the Southern Confederacy. 
The public debt of Texas during Lamar's administra- 
tion was increased by 14,855,215, as compared with 
$190,000, the expenses during Houston's term, and 
the condition of the country was one of financial 
chaos. 

During the last year of his term Lamar yielded 
to the disappointment of his high-flown schemes 



LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATION 261 

and the load of complaint and obloquy, and obtained 
permission from Congress to abdicate his functions 
of government. The duties of his offi.ce were per- 
formed by Vice-President Burnett. At one time, to- 
ward the close of his administration, affairs became 
so desperate, and Congress felt itself so helpless, 
that the members proposed to abandon their places, 
and go home. Houston made an eloquent speech 
recalling them to their duty, and on his motion a 
resolution was adopted "to adjourn until to-morrow 
at the usual hour." During Lamar's administration 
the seat of government was removed to a location on 
the Colorado Kiver, selected by a commission for that 
purpose, and a town laid out, which was named 
Austin. At that time it was far beyond the line of 
settlements and exposed to Indian attacks, so that 
the members of the government were sometimes 
obliged to take their turns at standing guard. The 
principal redeeming feature to the Lamar regime was 
the foundation given to a system of public education 
by a grant of land for a university, and appropria- 
tions of the public domain to each county for the 
establishment of schools. 

Houston was the centre of the political opposi- 
tion to Lamar's administration, and the people were 
divided into the "Houston" and " anti - Houston " 
parties, which continued to be the politics of Texas 
until it became a part of the United States, and, in- 
deed, never entirely lost their power so long as he 
lived. He was nominated for President, and be- 



262 SAM HOUSTON 

gan those camj)aigns of stump-speaking which were 
afterward so marked a feature in the politics of 
Texas, and such effective means for his retention of 
power. In the election there were 11,531 votes cast. 
Houston received 7415, to 3616 for David G. Burnett. 
Edward Burleson was elected Vice-President. Hous- 
ton was inaugurated for the second time on the 16th 
of December, 1841. 

In his message to Congress he said, "It seems that 
we have arrived at a crisis which is neither cheering 
for the present, nor flattering for the future." No 
change had taken place in the attitude of Mexico. 
Overtures had been made for the amicable adjust- 
ment of the difficulties, but they had been rejected, 
and he would not incur the degradation of further 
advances. It would be well to encourage Mexican 
citizens with the kindliest treatment so far as they 
wished to engage in commerce with the citizens of 
Texas, but there should be no interference with the 
revolutions or disturbances in Mexico. It would 
only exasperate the national enemy, while weakening 
the resources of Texas. The relations with the In- 
dians were in a very unsatisfactory condition. Im- 
mense sums had been spent in fighting them, but 
without good results. The erection of frontier posts 
at suitable points, and the establishment of trading 
stations protected by guards, would insure tranquil- 
lity and a lucrative commerce, while just and equi- 
table treaties would maintain a lasting peace. There 
was not a dollar in the treasury, and the country was 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 263 

involved from ten to fifteen millions. " We are not 
only without money, but without credit, and for want 
of punctuality without character." It would be nec- 
essary for Congress to totally suspend the redemption 
of the liabilities. In order to carry on the govern- 
ment it would be necessary to make a new issue of 
paper money, not exceeding $350,000, to be received 
at par for the government revenues. One million 
acres in the newly acquired Cherokee country should 
be specially set apart for the redemption of this issue. 
Finally, retrenchment and the most absolute economy 
should be established in the expenditure of the gov- 
ernment. 

Houston's first work was to carry out his recom- 
mendations for economy. Upon his suggestion his 
own salary was reduced from f 10, 000 to 15000, and 
those of the other civil officers in the like proportion. 
Many useless offices were abolished, and the most 
rigid economy was exercised in every department. 
All claims, even the most just and pressing, were 
postponed, and all appropriations by Congress, ex- 
cept those absolutely necessary to carry on the gov- 
ernment, were vetoed. Among the claimants was 
one Colonel Jonathan Bird, who had built a block- 
house at Birdsville at his own expense for the protec- 
tion of the frontier. He applied to Congress for 
reimbursement. The members told him that his 
claim was a just one, but that it would be useless for 
them to pass a bill for his relief as the President 
would veto it. They told him, however, that if he 



264 SAM HOUSTON- 

would see Houston, and get his approval, they would 
vote the appropriation. Houston told him that his 
claim ought to be paid, but that he could not approve 
any demand on the treasury in its bankrupt condi- 
tion. Said he, "If it would do you any good, colo- 
nel, I would give you half my present fortune; but 
my only possessions are a stud horse, who is eating 
his head off in the stable, and a solitary gamecock, 
without a hen to lay an egg.^^ 

The rigidity of Houston's economy is shown by 
the fact that the payment from the treasury during 
his three years' term only amounted to |417,175, 
exclusive of $17,907 paid for the mail service and 
the collection of taxes. 

Houston immediately set to work to pacify the In- 
dians. He sent commissioners to the various tribes 
with messages of friendship, and to arrange treaties 
of peace. They were successful in every instance, 
and although there were occasional troubles, owing 
to the encroachment of the settlers upon the Indian 
country and the inevitable conflicts between the hos- 
tile races, there was no general war with any Indian 
tribe during the whole of his administration. Indi- 
vidual hornets were flying about, but the whole nest 
was not disturbed. Houston addressed the Indians 
in their own style of language, with which he was 
familiar, and with a figurative eloquence, which they 
could appreciate. A number of his Indian "talks," 
as they were called, have been preserved. This is 
one of them : — 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 265 

Executive Department, 
Washington, October 13, 1842. 

To THE Ked Beak and Chiefs of the Council: 
My Brothers, — The patli between us is open ; it 
has become white. We wish it to remain open, and 
that it shall no more be stained with blood. The last 
Council took brush out of our way. Clouds no 
longer hang over us, but the sun gives life to our 
footsteps. Darkness is taken away from us, and we 
can look at each other as friends. I send councilors 
with my talk. They will give it to you. Hear it, 
and remember my words. I have never opened my 
lips to tell a red brother a lie. My red brethren, 
who know me, will tell you that my counsel has al- 
ways been for peace; that I have eaten bread and 
drank water with the red men. They listened to my 
words, and were not troubled. A bad chief came in 
my place, and told them lies, and did them much 
harm. His counsel was listened to, and the people 
did evil. His counsel is no more heard, and the peo- 
ple love peace with their red brothers. You, too, 
love peace ; and you wish to kill the buffalo for your 
women and children. There are many in Texas, and 
we wish you to enjoy them. 

Your Great Father, and ours, of the United States, 
wishes the red men and the people of Texas to be 
brothers. He has written to me and told me that 
you wanted peace, and would keep it. Because peace 
was good we have listened to him. You, too, have 



266 SAM HOUSTON 

heard his wishes, and you know the wishes of the red 
brothers on the Arkansas. Let us be like brothers, 
and bury the tomahawk forever. 

Bad men make trouble; they cannot be at peace, 
but when the water is clear they will disturb it, and 
make it muddy. The Mexicans have lately come to 
San Antonio and brought war with them ; they killed 
some of our people, and we killed and wounded many 
of them. We drove them out of the country; they 
fled in sorrow. If they come back again, they shall 
no more leave our country, or it will be after they 
have been taken prisoners. Their coming has dis- 
turbed us, and for that reason I cannot go to the 
Council to meet you, as I had intended. But my 
friends that I send to you will tell you all things, and 
make a treaty with you that I will look upon, and 
rejoice at. You will counsel together. They will 
bring me all the words that you speak to them. The 
Great Spirit will hear the words that I speak to you, 
and He will know the truth of the words that you 
send to me. When truth is spoken his countenance 
will rejoice, but before him who speaketh lies the 
Great Spirit will place darkness, and will not give 
light to his going. Let all the red men make peace; 
let no man injure his brother; let us meet every year 
in council that we may know the hearts of each other. 
I wish some of the chiefs of my red brothers to come 
and see me at Washington. They shall come in 
peace, and none shall make them afraid. 

The messenger from the Queen of England and the 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 267 

messenger from tlie United States are both in Texas, 
and will be in Washington, if they are not sick. 
They will be happy to see my brothers. If the Big 
Musk is in the Council he has not forgotten my 
words , and he knows my counsel was always that of 
a brother; and that I never deceived my red bro- 
thers, the Cherokees. They had much trouble and 
sorrow brought upon them, but it was done by chiefs 
whose counsel was wicked, and I was far off and 
could not hinder the mischief that was brought upon 
his people. Our great Council is to meet again 
in one moon, and I will send a talk to our agent 
at the trading house, who will send it to my red 
brothers. 

Let the war-whoop be no more heard in our 
prairies. Let songs of joy be heard upon our hills. 
In our valleys let there be laughter, and in our wig- 
wams let the voices of our women and children be 
heard. Let trouble be taken away far from us ; and 
when our warriors meet together, let them smoke the 
pipe of peace and be happy. 

Your brother, 

Sam Houston. / 

Santa Anna had taken advantage of the popularity 
which he had gained by his attack upon the French 
in Vera Cruz to reorganize his party and depose 
President Bustamente. The great majority of the 
people of Mexico were bitterly opposed to the sur- 
render of Texas, and Santa Anna felt compelled to 



268 SAM HOUSTON 

at least make a pretense of renewing the invasion. 
A small body of troops under General Yasquez was 
sent across the Rio Grande, and advanced upon San 
Antonio, which they reached on March 6, 1842. 
The small Texan garrison retreated, and the Mexi- 
cans took possession of the town. They hoisted the 
Mexican flag on the cathedral, but, after some plun- 
dering, retreated without attempting to hold the 
place. Similar raids by small forces were made at 
the same time upon Refugio and Goliad. These 
raids caused great excitement among the colonists, 
and it was apprehended that they were the forerun- 
ners of a more formidable invasion. The President 
issued a proclamation calling out the citizens. A 
force of 200 or 300 quickly gathered at San Antonio 
under General Burleson, but found that the enemy 
had retired. General Alexander Somerville was sent 
to take command of the levies, which soon amounted 
to about 3500 men. They were eager to pursue the 
enemy across the Rio Grande, but Houston was soon 
convinced that the advance of the Mexicans had been 
merely a temporary raid, and decided against any 
offensive war. He issued a proclamation forbidding 
any advance without authority, and, while professedly 
encouraging the war spirit, took effectual measures 
to prevent any expedition into Mexico. After some 
exhibitions of temper and insubordination the troops 
were disbanded by General Burleson and returned 
home. 

The war between Houston and Santa Anna was 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 269 

carried on by paper missiles. Santa Anna issued a 
public letter in reply to a proposition made by Gen- 
eral Hamilton without authority from the Texan 
government. General Hamilton had proposed that 
Mexico should acknowledge the independence of 
Texas for the payment of $5,000,000, and $200,000 
in secret to the agents of the treaty. Santa Anna 
was justifiably indignant at the proposed attempt at 
bribery, which he denounced as an insult and an in- 
famy. He declared that Mexico would never sur- 
render her right to Texas, and would never desist 
from war until she "had planted her eagle standard 
on the banks of the Sabine." Houston replied with 
a category of Santa Anna's acts of perfidy and false- 
hood, and a somewhat disingenuous argument of the 
peaceful character of the Santa Fe expedition. To 
Santa Anna's threats of the conquest of Texas he re- 
plied with vigorous emphasis : — 

"But you declare that you will not relax your ex- 
ertions until you have subjugated Texas; that you 
' have weighed its possible value, ' and that you are 
perfectly aware of the magnitude of the task which 
you have undertaken; that you 'will not permit a 
Colossus within the limits of Mexico ; ' that our title 
is that of 'theft and usurpation; ' and that 'the honor 
of the Mexican nation ' demands of you 'the reclama- 
tion of Texas; ' that 'if it were an unproductive de- 
sert, useless, sterile, yielding nothing desirable and 
abounding only in thorns to wound the feet of the 
traveler, you would not permit it to exist as an inde- 



270 SAM HOUSTON 

pendent government, in derision of your national 
character, your hearths, and your individuality.' 
Allow me to assure you that our title to Texas has a 
high sanction, — that of purchase, because we have 
performed our conditions; that of conquest, because 
we have been victorious; it is ours because you can- 
not subdue us ; it has been consecrated ours by the 
blood of martyred patriots ; it is ours by the claims 
of patriotism, superior intelligence, and unsubduable 
courage. It is not a sterile waste or a desert. It is 
the home of freemen, it is the land of promise, it is 
the garden of flowers. Every citizen of Texas was 
born a freeman, and he would die a recreant to the 
principles imbibed from his ancestry if he would not 
freely peril his life in defense of his home, his liberty, 
and his country." 

He concluded, "Ere the banner of Mexico shall 
triumphantly float on the banks of the Sabine, the 
Texan standard of the single star, borne by the 
Anglo-Saxon race, shall display its bright folds in 
Liberty's triumph on the Isthmus of Darien." 

The war fever continued to rage, and the demand 
for offensive operations against Mexico was so strong 
that the President called a special session of Con- 
gress, which met at Houston on June 27. In his 
message he alluded to the public threats of Santa 
Anna, and said that "it was not for us to act on the 
supposition that they were merely intended to give 
him temporary popularity at home." He did not be- 
lieve that a formidable invasion would be attempted. 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 271 

but it was evident that the enemy would continue to 
annoy the frontier. He had heretofore been opposed 
to offensive measures, but the question was whether 
they were not now necessary. He left it for Con- 
gress to decide. The war fever prevailed in Con- 
gress. It passed an act appointing Houston to the 
command of the army with dictatorial powers, and 
appropriating ten millions of acres of the public 
domain for war purposes. Houston vetoed it in a 
message declaring that it was contrary to his princi- 
ples to accept the powers of a military dictator, and 
that the country had no means whatever for carrying 
on the war against a powerful nation. It was as- 
serted by the enemies of Houston that his self-deny- 
ing declaration was a piece of popular clap-trap, and 
his whole conduct in the affair a specimen of his "In- 
dian cunning." They declared that he had consulted 
with the members of Congress in regard to the details 
of the bill which he vetoed, and that he had created 
the demand for the dictatorship in order to refuse it. 
During the fortnight which passed before the publi- 
cation of his veto, great turbulence prevailed, and 
there were threats of violence and assassination. 
Houston was warned by his friends to have a protect- 
ing guard, but his house was open as usual, and the 
voice of his young wife could be heard at the piano 
in the evening through the open windows, while knots 
of desperate men were gathered to curse and threaten 
him. Whether Houston played a political trick in 
regard to the dictatorship or not, he undoubtedly 



272 SAM HOUSTON 

showed great practical sagacity in refusing to allow 
the country to undertake the invasion of Mexico 
without means, and with only an undisciplined army 
of volunteers. 

In March, 1842, Houston proclaimed a blockade 
of the Mexican coast. The Mexican navy had been 
destroyed in the harbor of Vera Cruz by the French 
fleet, and the Texan vessels could command the Gulf. 
They had been cruising off the coast of Yucatan with- 
out accomplishing anything for themselves or the 
insurgents. The insurgent government of Yucatan 
had agreed to pay their expenses, but nothing was 
received from it. The crews were unpaid and the 
vessels out of repair when they returned from their 
cruise. They were sent to New Orleans to refit, but 
there was no money to pay the bills, and the vessels 
were given in pawn as security. Houston sent orders 
to Commodore Moore to sail for Galveston, but he 
refused to do so until the debts, for which he had 
given his personal pledge were paid. At a secret 
session of Congress in January, 1843, it was decided 
to sell the vessels, and commissioners were sent to 
take possession of them. The commodore refused to 
deliver them up, and sailed for Campeachy on an 
appeal for aid, and the promise of a subsidy by the 
Yucatan government, which was being besieged in 
that place. Houston issued a proclamation declaring 
Moore's operations to be piratical, and requesting 
foreign navies to seize the vessels and deliver them 
up. Moore succeeded in relieving the siege of Cam- 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 273 

peachy by driving the Mexican vessels from the 
harbor and cannonading the land batteries. He 
returned to Galveston, and a paper war ensued be- 
tween him and the President. The people of Gal- 
veston were indignant at the action of Congress in 
ordering the sale of the navy, and the act was re- 
pealed. The vessels were laid up, and remained 
useless until they were turned over to the United 
States, after annexation. The whole conduct of the 
navy, like that of the army, showed the utter want 
of subordination which existed among the volunteer 
adventurers, and the difficulty which Houston had in 
maintaining any regulation or authority. 

During the excitement of the apprehended inva- 
sion, Houston, who had been opposed to the change 
of the capitol to Austin, removed the government to 
Houston, and afterward to the town of Washington 
on the Brazos. This excited great indignation among 
the citizens of Austin, and they refused to permit the 
removal of the archives. Houston sent messengers 
for them, but the citizens shaved the manes and tails 
of their horses, and drove them off with contumely. 
On the 20th of December, 1842, Houston disj)atched 
a company of armed men with wagons to bring off 
the archives by force. As they were loading the 
boxes into the wagons at the Land Office, the citizens 
gathered, and a cannon was trained on the building. 
It was touched off by a Mrs. Eberly, the Amazonian 
keeper of a hotel in the town, but, fortunately, no 
one was injured by the discharge. The company 



274 SAM HOUSTON 

started with their wagons, but were overtaken and 
surrounded by the citizens at their camp at Brushy 
Creek, about eighteen miles from Austin. The com- 
pany was compelled to surrender and haul the boxes 
back to Austin. Houston complained to Congress of 
this insubordination, but nothing was done about it, 
and the boxes remained at Austin. 

Disturbances broke out in 1842 on the old "neu- 
tral ground" in Eastern Texas among the settlers 
themselves. A strong element of desperadoes and 
criminals remained among the people. Forged land 
titles and squatters' claims furnished the cause of the 
disturbance. The courts were powerless to enforce 
claims under the laws, and the citizens formed them- 
selves into a band, calling themselves the "Regula- 
tors," to carry out their own ideas of justice by the 
bullet and the lash. The opposite party organized 
under the name of the "Moderators," and the whole 
section was involved in a bitter and vindictive neigh- 
borhood war. Appeals were made by the peaceable 
citizens to Houston to suppress it. He ordered out 
a force of militia under General Smith, who marched 
to Shelby County, and found the two parties drawn 
up in battle array. He persuaded them to disperse 
without fighting, and the troubles were quieted in a 
measure. But the private warfare lasted for some 
years, and the squatters contintied to hold their lands 
by the title of the rifle. 

In September, 1843, the Mexicans made a more 
serious raid across the Rio Grande. General Adrian 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 275 

WoU entered San Antonio with a force of 1200 men. 
It was a surprise, and the Mexicans took the mem- 
bers of the district court prisoners. The militia ral- 
lied at Gonzales under the command of Captain Mat- 
thew Caldwell, known as "Old Paint," and advanced 
to attack the Mexicans with about eighty men. Cap- 
tain John C. Hays, the famous Texan Banger, was 
sent forward with a small party to draw a sally from 
the town. General WoU came out with 200 cavalry 
and 600 infantry, and a battle took place on the 
Salado Creek. It lasted until sunset, when the 
Mexicans retreated into the town. A party of fifty 
Texans, under Captain Nicholas Dawson, in attempt- 
ing to join Caldwell, were surrounded on the prairie 
by the Mexicans, who kept out of the range of their 
rifles, but fired upon them with a cannon, until they 
were compelled to surrender. The prisoners were all 
butchered after their surrender, and only one of the 
party succeeded in making his escape by killing a 
cavalry man with his own lance, and dashing off on 
his horse. General WoU retired from San Antonio 
on the 18th, taking with him his prisoners and plun- 
der. He was pursued by Caldwell, whose force had 
increased to 400 or 500 men, but the report of a rein- 
forcement to WoU, under General Ampudia, pre- 
vented Caldwell from attacking him. 

This raid again renewed the excitement and the 
demand for offensive operations against Mexico. 
Houston was once more compelled to cater to the war 
spirit. He issued a proclamation on September 16, 



276 SAM HOUSTON 

announcing that tlie Texan troops would cross the 
Rio Grande, and calling upon the levies to muster at 
San Antonio. General Somerville was again given 
the command, probably with secret instructions not 
to attempt any serious invasion. Troops gathered at 
San Antonio in an ill- supplied and insubordinate con- 
dition, and after several weeks of waiting a consid- 
erable number of them went home. On November 
18, Somerville set out on his march with 750 men, 
and reached Laredo December 6. He moved down 
the river, instead of crossing it. His troops were 
convinced that he had no serious purpose, and became 
insubordinate. About 200 left him and returned 
home. Somerville crossed the river with the rest, 
and took possession of Guerrero. From that place 
he recrossed the river and informed his army that he 
intended to return to Gonzales. About 800 men re- 
fused to return. They elected Colonel William S. 
Fisher as their commander, and determined to invade 
Mexico on their own account. They made an attack 
on the town of Mier on the night of the 23d, and 
entered it. During the engagement for the posses- 
sion of the town the next day the Texans were per- 
suaded to surrender by false representations of the 
arrival of Mexican reinforcements, and on the promise 
that they should not be sent into Mexico. The 
promise was violated, and they were marched as pris- 
oners toward the City of Mexico. They rose on their 
guards at the Hacienda del Salado, about eighteen 
miles beyond Saltillo, and made their escape. Un- 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 211 

fortunately, they deserted tlie road and took refuge 
in tlie mountains, where they lost their way and were 
worn out by hardships and want of food. They were 
tracked down by parties of the soldiery, and all but 
four recaptured. Every tenth man of the prisoners 
was shot by order of Santa Anna for their attempt to 
escape, and Captain Ewan Cameron, the leader of 
the revolt, who had escaped drawing the black bean 
in the death lottery, was afterward ordered to be 
shot. The prisoners were confined in the fortress 
of Perote near Jalapa. General Thomas Jefferson 
Green and a few others escaped by tunneling through 
the wall, and the rest were eventually released at the 
interposition of the foreign ministers. 

A sort of predatory expedition took place the same 
year. It was an attempt to capture a train loaded 
with Mexican goods on its way from Independence, 
Missouri, to Santa Fe. Captain Jacob S. Snively 
started in the fall of 1843 with about 150 men to 
capture the train in the region south of the Arkansas, 
which was claimed to be Texas territory. The train 
was escorted by a force of United States cavalry, 
under the command of Colonel Philip St. George 
Cooke, who obtained information of Snively's design. 
He informed Snively that he was trespassing on the 
territory of the United States, and compelled him 
to surrender. His party was partially disarmed and 
rendered harmless for mischief. A part accompanied 
Cooke's cavalry to Independence and a part returned 
home, having suffered somewhat in skirmishes with 



278 SAM HOUSTON 

the Indians on the way. It was an error on the part 
of Houston to have authorized such an expedition. 

On October 13, 1842, President Houston sent a 
dignified and forcible appeal to the governments of 
the United States, Great Britain, and France to in- 
terpose with Mexico, and require that either she 
should recognize the independence of Texas, or make 
war upon her in a civilized manner. He pointed out 
that no serious attempt at invasion had been made 
for the past six years, and that the war had only been 
carried on by predatory raids and by inciting the In- 
dians to massacre. He said : — 

"If Mexico believes herself able to subjugate this 
country, her right to make the effort to do so is not 
denied, for, on the contrary, if she chooses to invade 
our territory for that purpose the President, in the 
name of the people of all Texas, will bid her wel- 
come. It is not against a war with Mexico that 
Texas would protest. This she deprecates not. She 
is willing at any time to stake her existence as a na- 
tion upon the issue of a war conducted on Christian 
principles. It is alone against the unholy, inhuman, 
and fruitless character it has assumed and still main- 
tains, which violates every rule of honorable warfare, 
every precept of religion, and sets at defiance even 
the common sentiments of humanity, against which 
she protests, and invokes the interposition of those 
powerful nations which have recognized her indepen- 
dence." 

This appeal received the approval of Sir Kobert 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 279 

Peel and M. Guizot. Lord Aberdeen, the British 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, offered to mediate with 
Mexico for a cessation of hostilities, but declined to 
act jointly with the United States, on the ground 
that the latter 's relations with Mexico were not suffi- 
ciently friendly to justify expectations of any good 
results from her interference. Under the convention 
arranged by General Hamilton, the British minister 
to Mexico had been instructed to proffer a mediation 
which had been categorically refused by the Mexican 
government. This offer was now renewed, but with 
no better apparent success. In the mean time, the 
efforts for annexation had been revived in the United 
States. On June 6, 1843, President Houston sent 
a dispatch to Minister Van Zandt at Washington, 
directing him to withdraw the application of Texas 
for annexation to the United States. In further dis- 
patches, which were doubtless intended to be shown 
to the members of the United States government and 
to leading men in Congress, he communicated the 
facts of the friendly proffers made by European 
governments, and intimated that by an alliance with 
them Texas would be relieved from the necessity of 
desiring annexation to the United States. President 
Tyler was strongly in favor of annexation, and opened 
negotiations with Houston to induce him to renew the 
application. The Mexican minister to the United 
States announced in August that any act of annexa- 
tion by Congress would be considered a declaration 
of war. Houston demanded to know if the United 



280 SAM HOUSTON 

States could be depended upon to protect Texas from 
invasion while the negotiations were going on. Sec- 
retary Upshur did not answer this question, but 
stated that the Senate had been canvassed, and that 
there was an assurance of the necessary two thirds 
who would vote to ratify the treaty. Houston then 
applied to Colonel William S. Murphy, the United 
States diplomatic agent in Texas, and was assured 
that the United States would not permit the interfer- 
ence of Mexico or any other power while the negotia- 
tions were pending. Houston accepted this as suffi- 
cient, and appointed J. Pinkney Henderson as a 
special commissioner to Washington to renew the 
application for the treaty. He also sent a secret 
message to the Texan Congress, informing it of what 
he had done, and requesting its approval. During 
these negotiations Houston wrote several important 
letters, doubtless intended to affect 23ublic sentiment 
in the United States. On February 16, 1844, he 
wrote to Jackson, pointing out the advantages in 
trade and security which Texas would secure by 
maintaining her independence, but declaring himself 
in favor of annexation. His desire for peace and a 
settled order outweighed all other considerations. He 
said : — 

"I have no desire to see war renewed again in 
Texas. It is not the apprehension of personal danger 
that would alarm me, but rather the deleterious in- 
fluence which it has upon our population. The revo- 
lution has already introduced into Texas more wicked 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 281 

and ambitious men than could be desired in our pres- 
ent condition. In armies and camps such men have 
an opportunity of extending their acquaintance, and 
deriving some prominence from associations which 
totally disqualifies them from usefulness in a peace- 
ful community. Unwilling to embark in the useful 
avocations of life, in many instances they become 
restless demagogues or useless loafers. They are 
either ready to consume the substance which they 
have not earned, or to form combinations unfavorable 
to good order and the administration of the laws. 
Peace in Texas would relieve us from such people, 
and in the absence of their baleful influence give to 
society a vigorous constitution and healthy complex- 
ion. All the evils which we have experienced have 
resulted from such characters, and unless we have 
peace permanently established among us we cannot 
tell when a September election might not submerge 
the country to the misrule of such men for three 
years. 

"Furthermore, I wish to reside in a land where all 
will be subordinate to law, and where none dare to 
defy its mandates. I have arrived at that period of 
life when I desire retirement and assurance that what- 
ever I possess will be secured to me by just laws 
wisely administered. That privilege I would deem a 
rich requital for whatever I may have performed use- 
ful in life. With it I would be happy to retire from 
all cares of public station, and live in the enjoyment 
of the reflection that, if I had been serviceable to any 



282 SAM HOUSTON 

portion of mankind, their prosperity and happiness 
were ample recompense. I would give no thought to 
what the world might say of me when I could trans- 
mit to posterity the reputation of an honest man." 

In conclusion he said : — 

"Now, my venerated friend, you will perceive that 
Texas is presented to the United States as a bride 
adorned for her espousal. But if, now so confident 
of the union, she should be rejected, her mortification 
would be indescribable. She has been sought by the 
United States, and this is the third time she has con- 
sented. Were she now to be spurned it would for- 
ever terminate expectation on her part, and it would 
then not only be left for the United States to expect 
that she would seek some other friend, but all Chris- 
tendom would justify her in a choice dictated by ne- 
cessity and sanctioned by wisdom. However adverse 
this might be to the wishes or the interest of the 
United States, in her present situation she could not 
ponder long. The course of the United States, if it 
stop short of annexation, will displease France, irri- 
tate England, and exasperate Mexico. An effort to 
postpone it to a more convenient season may be tried 
in the United States to subserve party purposes and 
make a President. Let them beware. I take it that 
it is of too great magnitude for any imj)ediment to be 
opposed to its execution. That you may live to see 
your hopes in relation to it crowned with complete 
success, I sincerely desire. In the event that it 
speedily takes place, I hope that it will afford me an 



SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT 283 

opportunity of again visiting you at the Hermitage 
with my family. It is our ardent desire to see the 
day when you can lay your hand on our little boy's 
head, and bestow upon him your benediction." 

In May, he wrote to Minister Murphy a letter, 
which shows his enlarged views of the future of Texas 
as an independent power, and of the possibilities of 
the creation of a great and rival empire in the West. 
It was not a wild and extravagant vision, and might 
have been accomplished but for the annexation of 
Texas and the subsequent acquisition of California 
by the United States. He said : — 

"If faction or a regard for present party advan- 
tages should defeat the measure, you may depend 
upon one thing, and that is, that the glory of the 
United States has already culminated. A rival 
power will soon be built up, and the Pacific, as well 
as the Atlantic, will be component parts of Texas in 
thirty years from this date. The Oregon region in 
geographical affinity will attach to Texas. By this 
coalition or union the barrier of the Rocky Moun- 
tains will be dispensed with or obviated. England 
and France in such an event would not be so tena- 
cious on the subject of Oregon as if the United 
States were to be the sole possessor of it. When 
such an event would take place, or in anticipation of 
such a result, all the powers which either envy or 
fear the United States would use all reasonable exer- 
tion to build us up as the only rival power which 
can ever exist on this continent to that of the United 



284 SAM HOUSTON 

States. Considering our origin, their speculation 
may seem chimerical and that such things cannot 
take place. A common origin has its influence so 
long as common interests exist, but no longer. . . . 
The union of Oregon and Texas will be much more 
natural and convenient than for either separately to 
belong to the United States. This, too, would place 
Mexico at the mercy of such a power as Oregon and 
Texas would form ; such an event may appear fanci- 
ful to many, but I assure you that there are no Rocky 
Mountains interposing to such a project. But one 
thing can prevent its accomplishment, and that is 
annexation. If you, or any statesman, will only 
regard the map of North America, you will perceive 
that from the forty-sixth degree of latitude north 
there is the commencement of a natural boundary. 
This will embrace Oregon, and from thence south, on 
the Pacific coast, to the twenty-ninth or thirtieth de- 
gree south latitude will be a natural and convenient 
extent of sea-land. I am free to admit that most of 
the province of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Upper and 
Lower California, as well as Santa Fe, which we now 
claim, will have to be brought into the connection 
with Texas and Oregon. This, you will see by ref- 
erence to the map, is no bugbear to those who will 
reflect upon the achievement of the Anglo-Saxon 
people. . . . You need not estimate the population 
which is said or reputed to occupy the vast territory 
embraced between the twenty-ninth and forty-sixth 
degrees of latitude on the Pacific. They will, like 



ANNEXATION 285 

the Indian race, yield to the advance of the North 
American population. The amalgamation, under the 
advisement of statesmen, cannot fail to produce the 
result in producing a united government formed of 
and embracing the limits suggested. It may be 
urged that these matters are remote. Be it so. 
Statesmen are intended by their forecast to regulate 
and arrange matters in such sort as will give direction 
to events by which the future is to be benefited or 
prejudiced. You may fully rely, my friend, that 
future ages will profit by these facts, while we will 
only contemplate them in prospective. They must 
come. It is impossible to look on the map of North 
America and not perceive the rationale of the pro- 
ject." 

Before Jackson had received Houston's letter he 
had written on February 13 a letter expressing his 
strong desire for the annexation of Texas. It was 
kept secret for political reasons by the Democratic 
conspirators, headed by Calhoun, who were op23osed 
to the nomination of Van Buren. It was believed 
that both Van Buren and Clay had come to an under- 
standing by which they hoped to eliminate the Texas 
question from the coming election, in which they 
expected to be the candidates of their respective par- 
ties. The question had excited a bitter controversy, 
and each one feared that it would cost him vital 
votes. Clay wrote a letter, April 11, in which he 
declared that the annexation of Texas would be cer- 
tain to bring on a war with Mexico, and endanger 



286 SAM HOUSTON 

the safety of the Union. Van Buren also published 
a letter expressing his belief that the annexation of 
Texas would be followed by a war with Mexico, and 
that in such an event the United States would not be 
justified in the eyes of the world. The treaty was 
submitted to the Senate with a message from Presi- 
dent Tyler advocating what he termed the re-annexa- 
tion of Texas. The controversy raged in the country 
and in Congress, but the influence of these two great 
leaders upon their respective parties was sufficient to 
secure rejection. The treaty was rejected on June 5 
by a vote of thirty -five to sixteen. 

As soon as the treaty was definitely rejected by the 
United States the British government acted. Lord 
Aberdeen proposed to Ashbell Smith, the Texan 
minister to Great Britain and France, a "diplomatic 
act" in which five powers. Great Britain, France, 
the United States, Texas, and Mexico should be in- 
vited to join. Its purpose was to secure peace be- 
tween Texas and Mexico and the permanent inde- 
pendence of the former, Texas giving a formal pledge 
not to unite with any other nation. France agreed 
to join with Great Britain in the "act," and the three 
powers were to compel the assent of Mexico. The 
refusal of the United States was expected. Houston, 
who had been absent from the seat of government for 
some time, sent instructions to Anson Jones, Secre- 
tary of State, to close with the offer of Great Britain 
and France. Jones, who was then President-elect, 
disobeyed the order, and, instead, sent leave of ab- 



ANNEXATION 287 

sence to Minister Smith. Why Houston permitted 
this is an unsolved problem, but it is possible that he 
was willing that Jones, who was then his friend and 
a political protege, should have the distinction of 
concluding the treaty. At that time Houston and 
Jones were both regarded as opposed to annexation, 
and the majority of the people of Texas agreed with 
them, considering that the action of the United States 
had rendered it hopeless. 

In the mean time independent negotiations had been 
going on for an armistice and a treaty of peace with 
Mexico. The ex-provisional Lieutenant-Governor, 
J. W. Robinson, who had been among the prisoners 
captured at San Antonio by General Woll, had ad- 
dressed a communication to Santa Anna from the 
prison of Perote, proposing, if he was released, to go 
to Texas, and arrange the terms of a treaty by which 
Texas would acknowledge the sovereignty of Mexico, 
on condition that she should have a separate govern- 
ment. The proposition, which was probably made 
for no other purpose than to secure his own release, 
was accepted. Santa Anna's communication, which 
was addressed to "Mr." Houston and claimed Texas 
to be a province of Mexico, was of course rejected. 
But in it Mexico had expressed a willingness to 
suspend hostilities. An armistice was agreed upon 
throuo'h the mediation of the British minister, and 
commissioners were appointed on the part of Presi- 
dent Houston and General Woll, to arrange for an 
exchange of prisoners, pending negotiations for a per- 



288 SAM HOUSTON 

mauent peace. They agreed upon the terms of an 
armistice to last until May 1, and the agreement was 
signed on February 15. It was rejected by Houston 
on the ground that it referred to Texas as a province 
of Mexico. No acts of hostility followed, although 
General WoU notified Houston that the war was re- 
newed. 

Jones was inaugurated President on the 1st of De- 
cember, 1844. In his last message to Congress Hous- 
ton had the pleasure of announcing that his measures 
of economy had resulted in the solvency of the trea- 
sury. The expenses of the government had been met. 
The total cost of his administration during the three 
years had been only $416,058, and there was a bal- 
ance in the treasury of $5058. The Exchequer bills, 
with some fluctuations, had appreciated nearly to par, 
and the revenues of the country were on a sound and 
stable basis. Of all Houston's services to Texas 
none was more important than his firm and judicious 
economy, and its rescue from the danger of the abso- 
lute collapse of the government from the extravagance 
and wild financial schemes of the preceding adminis- 
tration. In his valedictory address he said in regard 
to annexation, "The United States have spurned 
Texas twice already. Let her therefore firmly main- 
tain her position as it is, and work out her own politi- 
cal salvation. Let her legislation proceed upon the 
principle that we are to be and to remain an inde- 
pendent people. If Texas goes begging again for 
admission to the United States, she will only de- 



ANNEXATION 289 

grade herself. . . . If we remain an independent na- 
tion our territory will become extensive — unlimited." 
The knowledge of the "diplomatic act" and the 
apprehension that Texas would be bound to Great 
Britain and France by their guarantee of her in- 
dependence aroused the alarm and jealousy of the 
United States. Public sentiment turned decidedly 
in favor of annexation. Van Bur en was defeated in 
the Democratic Convention, and James K. Polk was 
nominated as an avowed advocate of annexation. 
Clay endeavored to satisfy public opinion by declar- 
ing that he was in favor of annexation if it could be 
accomplished without war, but Polk was elected by 
a small majority in the Electoral College. On Feb- 
ruary 14, a joint resolution was adopted by both 
Houses of Congress for the admission of Texas into 
the Union. President Herrera, of Mexico, who had 
been elected by the Liberal party, agreed to a treaty 
by which Mexico consented to acknowledge the inde- 
pendence of Texas, on condition that she would not 
become annexed to any other power. The United 
States government became exceedingly anxious. 
Special agents were sent to make all sorts of promises 
to the people, and the old war feeling was stirred up 
by intimations of aggressive movements against Mex- 
ico. Lamar, and the other ambitious leaders who 
had been opposed to annexation, now strongly favored 
it, and it was even proposed to overthrow the govern- 
ment on the ground of President Jones's supposed 
opposition to the measure. Houston, who was a 

/ 



290 SAM HOUSTON 

friend of Jones, although they afterward quarreled 
bitterly, lent his strong personal influence to the sup- 
port of the government. The proposition of Presi- 
dent Herrera was made known to the people by proc- 
lamation, and a convention was also called to take 
action on the invitation of the United States. It 
met in Austin on the 4th of July, 1845, and adopted 
a resolution for annexation, which was submitted to 
Congress for ratification. It was accepted with only 
one dissentient vote, that of Richard Bache, a grand- 
son of Benjamin Franklin. The convention framed 
a state constitution, which was accepted by the peo- 
ple at a general election. October 14, Texas ceased 
to be a Republic, and became one of the United 
States. 

Some question has been raised as to the sincerity 
of Houston's desire for annexation. At the time he 
was accused of having been bought by British gold, 
and he was charged with treason with all the bitter- 
ness of envenomed political animosity. There is no 
reasonable doubt that Houston went to Texas for 
the purpose of bisinging about its acquisition by the 
United States, and with the knowledge and support of 
Jackson. During the early years of the struggle for 
independence annexation to the United States would 
have settled the question in favor of Texas, and was 
ardently desired by every man in it except those who 
were blinded by wild schemes of ambition and im- 
possible conquest. Houston was too shrewd and sen- 
sible not to recognize its advantages. Nevertheless, 



ANNEXATION 291 

he was revolted by the opposition of a considerable 
portion of the people of the United States, and by 
the repeated refusals of its government. He came to 
see the possibilities of a western empire to be founded 
by and attached to Texas, and recognized that the 
time had come when the United States must make a 
definite choice. His patriotism and his pride would 
not submit to further national humiliation. Ashbell 
Smith, Secretary of State to President Jones, relates 
this incident of Houston while the last negotiations 
were pending, and before Congress had passed the 
resolution for annexation : — 

"He was leaving Washington on the Brazos one 
morning in February, 1845. He came into my room, 
booted, spurred, whip in hand. Said he, 'Saxe 
Weimar [the name of his saddle-horse] is at the 
door, saddled. I have come to leave Houston's last 
words with you. If the Congress of the United 
States shall not by the 4th of March pass some mea- 
sure of annexation that Texas can with honor accede 
to, Houston will take the stump against annexation 
for all time to come. ' When he wished to be em- 
phatic he spoke of himself by name, Houston, in the 
third person. Without another word, embracing 
after his fashion, he mounted his horse and left." 

So far as Houston's personal ambition was con- 
cerned, it undoubtedly would have been favored by 
annexation. He was debarred from being again 
President of the Republic by the constitutional lim- 
itation. He would naturally and inevitably be one 



292 SAM HOUSTON 

of the Senators of the new State in Congress, with a 
fresh career open before him and the possibility of a 
still wider ambition in the Presidency of the United 
States. He was prepared to sacrifice this rather than 
endure another national affront, but he was undoubt- 
edly rejoiced when annexation was accomplished on 
honorable terms. 

In his private life during his second term Houston 
was enabled to establish a home and abandon some 
of his manners of a reckless and freebooting frontiers- 
man, as under the influence of his wife he had re- 
formed his habits of drinking and swearing. He 
still lived, however, in a primitive fashion. One of 
the old settlers of Texas thus relates his first inter- 
view with him: "I had come to Texas from Alabama, 
and was at Washington on the Brazos, then the seat 
of government, in 1843. One morning I was ap- 
proached by Houston's negro boy Tom, who was his 
cook and body-servant, with an invitation from the 
President for me to dine with him that day. I was 
then only about twenty years of age, and was natu- 
rally a good deal flustered by the unexpected honor, 
which I was unable to account for, as I had never 
spoken to the President. The dinner was at one 
o'clock. I found the President at the double log- 
house which was his residence. He received me with 
a kindly and hearty welcome, which put me at once 
at my ease. The dinner consisted of wild turkey, 
bread, and black coffee. Houston said that but for 
the kindness of a neighbor, who had sent in the 



ANNEXATION 293 

bird, the dinner would have consisted of only bread 
and coffee. He told me all about my family and 
relatives in Tennessee, and in fact a great many 
things that I did not know myself. His whole man- 
ner and conversation were most gracious and friendly. 
From that time I was always his devoted friend and 
political follower." It was Houston's custom to ac- 
quaint himseK with the antecedents of new-comers to 
Texas as far as he could, and attach them to himseK 
by friendly interest and hospitality. If, however, 
they showed signs of rivalry or opposition to him, he 
was apt to turn his tongue against them, and be as 
harsh and sarcastic as he had before been friendly. 

Mrs. M. H. Houston, a Scotch lady of wealth who 
made a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico with her hus- 
band in a yacht, and wrote a couple of books about 
her travels in the United States, thus describes a visit 
to Houston in 1844 : — 

"The city of Houston is beautifully situated on 
the banks of the Red River. The houses are built 
entirely of wood, and the hotels are wretched. Our 
chief end, however, was answered, for we received 
a visit from the conqueror of San Jacinto and the 
friend of the red man. As is invariably the case in 
the introduction of Americans, either to one another, 
or to foreigners, much shaking of hands, together 
with considerable use of the monosyllable 'sir,' took 
place between us and General Sam Houston, whose 
costume is a happy mixture of the inevitable black 
satin waistcoat (donned probably from a sense of con- 



V 



294 SAM HOUSTON 

ventional respect for his British visitors) and a coarse, 
blanket-like overcoat, which, having much the appear- 
ance of green baize, is the ordinary covering of a 
Texan gentleman. A wan and worn-looking man is 
the President of the new Republic, and there are, 
notwithstanding the shrewd and kindly expression of 
his face, signs thereon that he has (more than his 
many admirers like to think possible) deserved in his 
day the sobriquet of 'Drunken Sam,' which was long 
since bestowed upon him. He has been twice mar- 
ried, having obtained — a thing easily done in Amer- 
ica — a divorce from his first wife ; his second mar- 
riage has, in one respect at least, proved of signal 
advantage to him, for, thanks to the influence of 
Madame la JPresidente, General Houston has es- 
chewed the habits of drinking and using bad lan- 
guage, in which he formerly indulged. He was what 
I have heard called 'a fine swearer ' in days gone by; 
but he has learned not only to govern men, but to 
rule his tongue, which he has probably found to be 
a far more difficult matter. Like most Americans 
whom I have known, he is very proud of being able 
to clearly prove his descent from an English, or 
rather, in his case, from a Scotch family. He told 
us that his forbears belonged in Lanarkshire, and 
claimed cousinship with us at once. Never have I 
seen a man who had 'done,' not alone the 'State,' 
but the cause of humanity, such 'good service in his 
day ' who was so simple and unobtrusive in his man- 
ner, and who seemed to think so little of himself." 



ANNEXATION 295 

Houston endeavored to fulfill his purpose to visit 
Jackson at the Hermitage with his family, after 
annexation, but he only arrived a few hours after the 
death of his "venerated friend," whom he held in 
such affection and reverence. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 

Samuel Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were 
elected Senators of the United States by the legis- 
lature of Texas. Houston arrived in Washington 
and took his seat as a member of the Twenty-Ninth 
Congress March 30, 1846. It was the great era of 
the American Senate. It had among its members 
a larger number of distinguished and able statesmen 
than it had before or has had since. There were the 
great leaders, Webster, Clay, and Calhoun, the 
scarcely less distinguished Thomas H. Benton, and 
among the others, who had or were to, acquire a na- 
tional fame, were Lewis Cass, John A. Dix, Daniel S. 
Dickenson, Reverdy Johnson, Simon Cameron, Will- 
iam Allen, Thomas Corwin, and Jesse D. Bright. 
Houston's advent, from his romantic career and 
achievements, attracted much attention, and he was 
at once a marked, although a rather eccentric figure 
in the Senate chamber. He continued his habit of 
peculiarity in dress, wearing his broad-brimmed white 
hat of soft fur, and draping himself in a cloak with a 
red lining, or in a bright-colored Mexican blanket. 
He provided himself with a supply of cypress shin- 
gles, and filled his waste-basket during the debates 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 297 

with the shavings that curled from under his sharp 
knife. 

Houston did not manifest any of that false mod- 
esty which has created the custom that a new Senator 
shall be silent during his first session, but at once 
took his part in the debates. His first speech was 
delivered just a fortnight after he had taken his seat. 
It was on the question of the Oregon boundary. He 
took strong grounds, in agreement with Benton, with 
whom he allied himself, as the representative of the 
old Union Democracy of Jackson, and in opposition 
to Calhoun and the nuUifiers and disunionists, in 
favor of the extreme claims of the United States to 
the northern boundary. His speech was long, ram- ^^ 
bling, and discursive, and, if at times forcible in lan- 
guage, indicated that he was not likely to take his 
place among the leaders of the Senate in logical and 
legal argument. The Southern members, under the 
leadership of Calhoun, were not anxious for the ex- 
tension of free territory at the North, and President 
Polk, although he had been elected on the plat- 
form of "54.40 or fight," was of a much less bel- 
licose temper toward Great Britain than he had been 
toward Mexico. The motion for which Houston 
spoke, to give notice of the termination of the joint 
occupancy of the Columbia River region, was passed 
by a vote of forty to fourteen, but the question was 
finally settled, after some not very forcible diplomacy 
on the part of the United States, by a compromise on 
the boundary of 49°. 



298 SAM HOUSTON 

The war with Mexico had been begun before Hous- 
ton's arrival by the advance of General Taylor's 
troops upon the Eio Grande, Houston favored the 
war, at least after it had been commenced, and had 
always extreme views in regard to the incorporation 
of Mexican territory into the United States. He was 
a member of the Committee on Military Affairs, and 
was, naturally, a good deal consulted in regard to the 
operations against Mexico. It is charged that he 
prevented the appointment of General Albert Sidney 
Johnston to an important command, on account of 
their old differences in the affairs of Texas, and 
he doubtless had virtual control of the commissions 
issued to Texan officers. He reported a resolution 
for a vote of thanks to the soldiers engaged in the 
battle of Buena Vista, and for a medal to General 
Taylor. He was in favor of the vigorous prosecution 
of the war, and in the Thirtieth Congress supported 
the bill for the three millions extra credit to carry 
it on, which was defeated. He made an elaborate 
speech, in which he defended the character of the 
settlers in Texas, who had been attacked during the 
debate, and set forth the claims of Texas to the terri- 
tory of New Mexico, east of the Rio Grande, under 
the old Spanish and French treaties. He defended 
President Polk from the charge of having brought on 
the war, and argued in favor of giving him a vigorous 
support. He was strenuous in the advocacy of the 
claims of Texas, and made a strong speech in favor 
of incorporating the Texan navy into that of the 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 299 

United States, about whicli there had been some diffi- 
culty, which was finally settled by an appropriation 
for the pay of the Texan officers for four years, on 
the condition that they would relinquish their claims 
to positions in the navy of the United States. He 
offered a resolution for the establishment of a protec- 
torate over Yucatan, as he did at a later period one 
for a protectorate over all Mexico. It was in accord- 
ance with his views for the extension of the terri- 
tory of the United States to the Isthmus of Darien, 
but it fortunately received little attention. What- 
ever may be the opinion in regard to "manifest des- 
tiny," the adoption of such a scheme at that time 
would have involved the United States in difficulties 
and responsibilities of the most serious character, and 
have been a source of great trouble and weakness. 
These views did not accord with the usual practical 
sagacity of Houston, but rather with the filibuster 
spirit of the earlier adventurers in Texas, whom he 
had always opposed. 

Houston's most important action and speech, which 
fixed the plan in relation to the extension of slavery 
that he ever afterward maintained, were on the bill 
for the establishment of the territorial government 
of Oregon. The bill contained a provision prohibit- 
ing the establishment of slavery, in accordance with 
the ordinance of 1787 in regard to the Northwest 
Territory. This was denounced by Callioun, who de- 
clared that Congress had no right to prohibit slavery 
in a Territory, and openly threatened disunion in 



300 SAM HOUSTON 

case his doctrine was not accepted. Houston followed 
Benton in a vigorous reply. He said that he had 
heard the cry of disunion and nullification before. 
That cry had reached him in the wilderness when 
an exile from kindred and friends and sections. 
But it had rung in his ears, and wounded his heart. 
Now, however, he was in the midst of such a cry, 
and he was bound to act as a man conscious of the 
solemn responsibility imposed upon him. He had 
heard the menaces and threats of dissolution and dis- 
union until he had become familiar with them, and 
they had now ceased to produce alarm in his bosom. 
He had no fear of the dissolution of the Union, when 
he recollected how it had been established and how it 
had been defended. Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Butler, of 
South Carolina, both interrupted Houston's speech. 
Calhoun denied that the South had threatened to 
dissolve the Union. Mr. Butler wanted to know if 
the holding of a Southern convention was treason. 
Houston replied, "Certainly not." The South could 
hold all the conventions it pleased, but he would 
never go into one. He knew neither North nor 
South. He knew only the Union. Houston's course 
produced great anger and excitement among the ex- 
treme Southerners. He and Benton were denounced 
by name as traitors at public meetings in South Caro- 
lina. But there appears to have been no disapproval 
of his action at that time among the people of Texas. 
The large slave-holding element had not become es- 
tablished among the settlers, and they were fresh in 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 301 

their loyalty to the Union. It was not until the 
social and political conditions had been changed that 
the fire-eaters and disunionists gained the control. 

In the next Congress in 1849, under the adminis- 
tration of President Taylor, Houston declared him- 
self in favor of the admission of California as a free 
State. The Southern leaders were greatly excited at 
the prospect of the loss of the territory for which 
they had caused the Mexican war. An address was 
issued for a convention at Nashville to consider the 
threatened rights and interests of the South. Hous- 
ton refused to sign the address, and ridiculed the 
convention. He declared that it was a piece of ridic- 
ulous flummery, and that ex-Governor Henderson 
was the sole representative from Texas in it, and 
" self -constituted at that." The slavery question was 
continually coming up in every form. On a resolu- 
tion to invite Father Mathew, the eminent Irish 
apostle of temperance, to a seat on the floor of the 
Senate, objection was made that he had signed a 
petition against slavery with Daniel O'Connell. 
Houston supported the resolution, and expressed his 
profound contempt for the attempt to drag slavery 
into the question of temperance. At that time Hous- 
ton had wholly conquered his habits of indulgence in 
liquor. He said, "I am a disciple of the advocates 
of temperance. I needed the discipline of reforma- 
tion, and I embraced it. I am proud on this floor to 
proclaim it, sir. I would enforce the example upon 
every American heart that influences or is influenced 



302 SAM HOUSTON 

by filial affection, conjugal love, or parental tender- 



ness." 



The question of the extent of the boundary of 
Texas to the north on the Rio Grande, and the claim 
of the State to a considerable portion of the territory 
of New Mexico, was renewed by the result of the 
Mexican war. The United States troops under Gen- 
eral Kearney had taken possession of New Mexico, 
and, after the territory had been ceded to the United 
States by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Texas 
attempted to exercise jurisdiction over it. The leg- 
islature passed an ordinance making it a judicial dis- 
trict, and Judge Beard was sent to hold courts in the 
territory. By order of President Taylor, Colonel 
Monroe, the commandant of the United States troops, 
forbade Judge Beard to exercise his functions, and 
ordered an election for a territorial delegate to Con- 
gress. Houston defended the claim of Texas in an 
elaborate speech, and attacked Taylor for his uncom- 
plimentary references in his reports to the disorders 
among the Texan volunteers during the Mexican war. 
The question at one time assumed a somewhat serious 
phase, as Governor Wood threatened to call out the 
militia of Texas to take possession of the country. 
But he thought better of it when he was informed by 
President Taylor that they would be repelled by 
force, and that he would go to the scene of distur- 
bance himself, if necessary. Mr. Clay in his famous 
compromise measures included a provision for the 
settlement of the claim of Texas to New Mexico by 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 303 

the payment of a sum of money for the canceling of 
the debts of Texas, for which the customs revenues 
had been pledged. In order to avoid a continuance 
of the trouble this portion of the compromise measure 
was adopted first. Senator Pearce, of Maryland, in- 
troduced a bill fixing the boundaries of Texas and 
New Mexico, as they now stand, and providing for 
the payment of 110,000,000 to Texas. Of this sum 
$5,000,000 was to be reserved for the payment of the 
debts of Texas upon claims filed and audited in the 
United States treasury. There was a strong disposi- 
tion in the Texas legislature to reject the proposition, 
on the ground of the provision compelling the pay- 
ment of the public debt contracted by the Kepublic. 
In the final disposition a portion of this was repu- 
diated. The public debt, which amounted to 112,- 
436,491, was scaled down to $6,827,278, by various 
classifications allowing from twenty to seventy-five 
cents on the dollar. It was claimed that this was a 
just and even a generous adjustment, inasmuch as the 
money had been received in some instances at only 
two or three cents on the dollar, and there was the 
usual talk about speculators and Shylocks, who had 
taken advantage of the necessities of the deserving 
creditors to obtain possession of the claims. It must 
be admitted that the ostensible claims for a reduction 
of the debt on account of the actual value received 
were very forcible, and the example of Texas will com- 
pare favorably with that of the United States after the 
Revolutionary war, and of States like Mississippi and 



304 SAM HOUSTON 

Pennsylvania with much less temptation. Neverthe- 
less, it was a violation of the bond, which would not 
have been permitted on the part of any private debtor, 
and not justifiable according to the strict letter of the 
law. Houston defended the action of Texas in scaling 
the debt in a speech in the Senate. In regard to the 
relinquishment by Texas to the claim upon New 
Mexico, he said in a speech at Galveston that "it 
was the best sale ever made of land of a worthless 
quality and a disputable title." At Houston's sug- 
gestion the sum of 12,000,000 of the money, remain- 
ing after the payment of the debt, was set apart for 
a public school fund. 

As the controversy raged and the excitement grew 
hot over Clay's compromise bill, Houston offered a 
resolution that a committee of six Senators be ap- 
pointed to prepare an address for the purpose of 
allaying the agitation, but it was not adopted. The 
various measures embodied in the original bill, for 
the admission of California as a free State, for the 
creation of a territorial government in New Mexico 
without reference to slavery, for the settlement of the 
Texan boundary, for a fugitive slave law, and for the 
abolition of the slave trade in the District of Colum- 
bia, were finally adopted, one after another. The 
fugitive slave law, in a more severe form as regards 
the rights of the fugitives before the courts than as 
reported by Mr. Clay, and a gross violation of com- 
mon law, was passed August 26, only twelve Senators 
voting against it. Houston voted for it, as he did 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 305 

also for the abolition of the slave trade in the District 
of Columbia. Although ten Senators from Southern 
States signed a protest against the admission of Cali- 
fornia as a free State "as a part of a policy which, if 
persisted in, would lead to a dissolution of the Con- 
federacy," and there were ominous signs of a growing 
spirit of slave propagandism and resistance to na- 
tional authority at the South, the country believed 
that the terrible question had been charmed down 
for an indefinite period. But the inevitable conflict 
had hardly been postponed. A new class of states- 
men had come upon the scene, more far-seeing in 
regard to the nature of the controversy, and more 
determined to bring it to a decisive issue. Seward, 
Sumner, and Chase represented the more decided re- 
sistance of the North against the spread of slavery, 
and Jefferson Davis, Clemens, Soule, and others rep- 
resented the determination of the South to extend the 
area of slave territory or dissolve the Union. Web- 
ster and Clay, the great champions of compromise, 
passed away. Benton, who had represented Mis- 
souri for thirty years in the Senate, was defeated in 
his own State, leaving Houston as the sole conspic- 
uous representative of the old Union or Jackson 
Democracy from the South. In January, 1853, he 
was reelected Senator by the legislature of Texas 
without any formidable opposition. 

On March 4, 1853, Franklin Pierce was inaugu- 
rated President of the United States as the flexible 
instrument of the aggressive Southern element. In 



306 SAM HOUSTON 

the early part of the session of 1854 Senator Douglas, 
of Illinois, from the Committee on Territories, re- 
ported the Kansas-Nebraska bill, which repealed the 
Missouri Compromise, to which the country had 
clung since 1820 as the pledge of peace and security, 
and opened all the national territory to the chances 
of slave colonization. Houston rose at once to the 
height of the occasion. He opposed the bill vehe- 
mently and unflinchingly. In a speech, delivered at 
the night session of March 8, just before the passage 
of the bill, which marked his commanding power as 
1 an orator on a great occasion, and with a prophetic 
I wisdom and prescience, he exposed the follies and 
dangers of the bill to the country and to the South 
in particular. He said, in emphatic words, of the 
peril it would bring to the Union : — 

"Mr. President, I cannot believe that the agitation 
created by this measure will be confined to the Senate 
chamber. I cannot believe from what we have wit- 
nessed here to-night that this will be the exclusive 
arena for the exercise of human passion and the ex- 
pression of public opinion. If the Eepublic be not 
shaken, I will thank Heaven for its kindness in main- 
taining its stability." 

He pointed out with much sagacity the special 
perils which it would bring to Texas : — 

"I will give you my reasons why I think Texas 
would be in the most deplorable condition of all the 
Southern States. It is now the terminus of the slave 
population. It is a country of vast extent and fertile 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 307 

soil, favorable to the culture and growth of those 
productions which are most important to the necessi- 
ties of the world, — cotton, sugar, and tobacco. An 
immense slave population must eventually go there. 
The demand for labor is so great, everything is so 
inviting to the enterprising and industrious, that la- 
bor will be transferred there because it will be of a 
most profitable character, and the disproportion of 
slaves to the white population must be immense. 
Then, sir, it must become the gulf of slavery, and 
there its terrible eddies will whirl if convulsions take 
place." 

He brushed aside the question of the principle 
of non-intervention, as claimed by the South, and 
showed that it was as useless in theory as it would 
be dangerous in practice : — 

"I again ask, What benefit is to result to the 
South from this measure if adopted? . . . Will it 
secure these territories to the South. No, sir, not 
at all. But the gentleman tells us. It is the principle 
we want. I can perceive but one principle involved 
in the measure, and that principle lies at the root of 
agitation ; and from that all the tumults and excite- 
ments of the country must arise. That is the only 
principle I can perceive. We are told by Southern 
as well as Northern gentlemen, those who are for it, 
and those who are against it, that slavery will never 
be extended to that Territory, that it will never go 
there ; but it is the principle of non-intervention it is 
desired to establish. Sir, we have done well under 



308 SA3I HOUSTON 

tlie intervention of the Missouri Compromise, if the 
gentlemen so call it, in other Territories, and I ad- 
jure you, when there is so much involved, not to 
press the matter too far. What is to be the conse- 
quence? If it is not in embryo, my suggestion will 
not make it so. It has been suggested elsewhere, 
and I may repeat it here. What is to be the effect of 
this measure if adopted, and you repeal the Missouri 
Compromise ? The South is to gain nothing by it, 
for honorable gentlemen from the South, and espe- 
cially the junior Senator from Virginia, characterize it 
as a miserable, trifling, little measure. Then, sir, is 
the South to be benefited or propitiated by conferring 
upon her a miserable, trifling, little measure? Will 
that compensate the South for her uneasiness ? Will 
it allay the agitation of the North? Will it preserve 
the union of these States ? Will it sustain the Dem- 
ocratic or the Whig party in their organizations? 
No, sir, they all go to the wall. What is to be the 
effect on the government? It is to be most fatal and 
ruinous to the future harmony and well-being of the 
country. I think that the measure itself would be 
useless. If you establish non-intervention you make 
nothing by that. But what will be the consequences 
in the minds of the people ? They have a veneration 
for that compromise. They have a respect and rev- 
erence for it, from its antiquity and the associations 
connected with it, and repeated references to it that 
seemed to suggest that it marked the boundaries of 
free and slave territory. They have no respect for it 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 309 

as a compact, — I do not care what you call it, — but 
as a line defining certain rights and privileges to dif- 
ferent sections of the Union. The abstractions which 
you indulge in here can never satisfy the people that 
there is not something in it. Abrogate or disannul 
it, and you exasperate the public mind. It is not 
necessary that reason should accompany excitement. 
Feeling is enough to agitate without much reason, 
and that will be the great prompter on this occasion. 
My word for it, we shall realize scenes of agitation, 
which are rumbling in the distance now." 

As to the charge that he was faithless to the South 
and in alliance with the Abolitionists he replied in 
manly words: — 

"This is an eminently perilous measure, and do 
you expect me to remain here silent, or to shrink 
from the discharge of my duty in admonishing the 
South of what I consider the results will be ? I will 
do it, in spite of all the intimidations, or threats, or 
discountenances that may be thrown upon me. Sir, 
the charges that I am going with the Abolitionists 
or the Free-Soilers affects not me. The discharge of 
conscious duty prompts me often to confront the 
united array of the very section of the country in 
which I reside, in which my associations are, in which 
my personal interests have always been, and in which 
my affections rest. Where every look to the setting 
sun carries me to the bosom of a family dependent 
upon me, think you I could be alien to them? Never, 
— never." 



310 SAM HOUSTON 

His apprehensions of the evils which would follow 
the passage of the bill were no less than a prophecy 
for the country and himself : — 

"I had fondly hoped, Mr. President, that, having 
attained to my present period of life, I should pass 
the residue of my days, be they many or few, in 
peace and tranquillity; that as I found the country 
growing up rapidly, and have witnessed its immea- 
surable expansion and development, when I close my 
eyes on scenes around me, I would at least have the 
cherished consolation and hope that I left my children 
to a peaceful, happy, prosperous, and united com- 
munity. I had hoped this. Fondly had I cherished 
the desire and the expectation from 1850 until after 
the introduction of this bill. My hoj)es are less san- 
guine now. My anxieties increase, but my expecta- 
tion lessens. Sir, if this repeal takes place I will 
have seen the commencement of the agitation; but 
the youngest child now born, I am apprehensive, will 
not live to witness its termination." 

In conclusion, he made an appeal for the Indians 
who were to be dispossessed from the territory, and 
whom none of the other statesmen, who were strug- 
gling for or against the extension of slavery, had 
thought it worth while to consider. His views on the 
policy of treating the Indians had more than a tem- 
porary bearing. He said : — 

"Mr. President, I have very little hope that any 
appeal that I may make on behalf of the Indians will 
do any good. The honorable Senator from Indiana 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 311 

says in substance that God Almighty has condemned 
them, and made them an inferior race; that there is 
no use in doing anything for them. With great 
deference to that Senator, for whom I have never 
cherished anything but kind feelings, I must be per- 
mitted to dissent from his opinions. He says they are 
not civilized, and *they are not homogeneous, and can- 
not be so with the white race. They cannot be civil- 
ized ! No ! Sir, it is idle to tell me that. We have 
Indians on our western borders whose civilization is 
not inferior to our own. . . . They have well-organ- 
ized societies; they have their villages and towns; 
they have their state houses and their capitols; they 
have females and men who would grace the drawing- 
rooms or salons of Washington; they have a well- 
organized judiciary, a trial by jury, and the writ of 
habeas corpus. These are the people for whom I 
demand justice in the organization of these territo- 
ries. . . . But the honorable Senator from Iowa 
characterizes the remarks which I made in reference 
to the Indians as arising from a feeling of 'sickly 
sentimentality.' Sir, it is a sickly sentimentality 
that was implanted in me when I was young, and it 
has grown up with me. The Indian has a sense of 
justice, truth, and honor that should find a respon- 
sive chord in every heart. If the Indians on the 
frontier are barbarous, or if they are cannibals and 
eat each other, who are to blame for it? They are 
robbed of the means of sustenance; and with hun- 
dreds and thousands of them starving on the frontier, 



312 SAM HOUSTON 

liunger may prompt to such acts to prevent their 
perishing. We shall never become cannibals in con- 
nection with the Indians, but we do worse than that. 
We rob them first of their native dignity and char- 
acter; we rob them next of what the government 
appropriates for them. If we do not do it in this 
hall, men are invested with power and authority 
who, officiating as agents or traders, rob them of 
everything which is designed for them. Not less 
than one hundred millions of dollars, I learn from 
statistics, since the adoption of this government, have 
been appropriated by Congress for purposes of justice 
and benevolence toward the Indians ; but I am satis- 
fied that they have never received fifteen millions 
beneficially. They are too remote from the seat of 
government to have their real condition und.erstood 
here; and if the government intends liberality or 
justice toward them, it is often diverted from the 
intended object, and consumed by speculators. . . . 
Now I should like to know if it becomes us to violate 
a treaty made with the Indians when we please, 
regardless of justice and honor? We should be care- 
ful if it were with a power able to war with us ; and 
it argues a degree of infinite meanness and indescrib- 
able degradation on our part to act differently with 
the Indians, who confide in our honor and justice, 
and who call the President their Great Father, and 
confide in him. Mr. President, it is in the power of 
the Congress of the United States to do some justice 
to the Indians by giving them a government of their 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 313 

own, and encouraging them in tlieir organization and 
improvement by inviting their delegates to a place 
on the floor of the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives. If you will not do it, the sin will lie at your 
door, and Providence in his own way, mysterious 
and incomprehensible to us though it is, will accom- 
plish all his purposes, and may at some day avenge 
the wrongs of the Indians upon our nation. As a 
people we can save them; and the sooner the great 
work is begun, the sooner will humanity have cause 
to rejoice in its accomplishment." 

The bill was passed, Houston and John Bell, of 
Tennessee, being the only Senators from Southern 
States who voted against it. Benton was not in his 
accustomed seat in the Senate, but from his place in 
the House of Representatives he inveighed against 
the measure, and protested against the political mad- 
ness which precipitated it upon the country. 

One of the incidents connected with the controversy 
in the Senate, which showed Houston's courage and 
manliness, was in relation to the treatment of the 
petition of three thousand clergymen of New Eng- 
land, which had been presented against the passage 
of the Nebraska bill. An attempt was made to re- 
ject the petition, on the ground that it was insulting 
to the Senate in pronouncing its action "immoral" 
and in invoking the vengeance of the Almighty upon 
the advocates of the bill. Senator Douglas made 
a violent attack upon it, declaring it an "atrocious 
falsehood," an "atrocious calumny," and that its 



314 SAM HOUSTON 

signers had "desecrated the pulpit and prostituted the 
sacred desk." Senators Mason, Butler, Badger, and 
others denounced it in very severe terms. Edward 
Everett, who had presented the petition, made a fee- 
ble and apologetic defense, which avoided the point 
at issue in the character of the memorial. While 
Douglas was speaking, Houston cried out to Sumner, 
the other Massachusetts Senator, "Sumner, don't 
speak, don't speak; leave him to me." Sumner re- 
plied, "Will you take care of him?" "Yes," said 
Houston, "if you will leave him to me." His pur- 
pose in taking the place of Sumner, he said, was that 
Douglas should have no opportunity to sustain his 
charge that the memorial was the work of Abolition 
confederates. In his remarks he vigorously defended 
the character of the petitioners and the rights and 
duty of clergymen to express their opinion on polit- 
ical subjects. He was sharply criticised for making 
use of the expression of " vice-gerents of God" in 
regard to them, but he explained it as simply mean- 
ing that they were the ministers and aids of the 
Almighty. As Houston had no sympathy with the 
Abolition sentiments of the petitioners his course was 
the more honorable and manly. During the troubles 
in Kansas which followed the passage of the bill he 
was silent, and, doubtless, only regarded them as the 
fulfillment of his prophecies of evil. He was equally 
silent in regard to the attack upon Sumner in the 
Senate chamber. He had seen such methods of car- 
rying on political controversy before, and given an 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 315 

example of it in his own person, so that he was 
hardly in a position to reprimand it severely. But 
he must have been revolted at the mingled brutality 
and cowardice of Brooks's attack upon an unarmed 
and unprepared man within the walls of the Senate 
chamber. 

Houston distinguished himself during his whole 
senatorial career by his defense of the rights of the 
Indians. He was indignant at the system of misman- 
agement, robbery, and oppression which character- 
ized the treatment of them by the government, and 
in repeated speeches he urged a more humane, intel- 
ligent, and practical method of dealing with them. 
He was almost alone in Congress in defending their 
rights. The professional philanthropy of the time 
was almost entirely enlisted in the cause of the negro, 
and the practical politicians regarded the Indian as 
a nuisance when he could not be made a prey. A 
great interest was involved throughout the entire 
West in getting possession of the Indian lands, and 
was energetically pushed by its representatives in 
Congress. Houston's own people were not in sym- 
pathy with him, and public opinion was indifferent 
where it was not hostile. But he spoke out in manly 
terms on every occasion, and it was to him that the 
delegations of Indians who visited Washington ap- 
pealed for advice and assistance. Mr. C. Edwards 
Lester in his rhetorical pamphlet, " Sam Houston and 
his Republic," gives a somewhat overstrained, but 
probably essentially true account of the meeting of a 



316 SAM HOUSTON 

delegation of prairie Indians with Houston in Wash- 
ington : — 

"During the latter part of June, 1846, General 
Morehead arrived in Washington with forty wild 
Indians from Texas, belonging to more than a dozen 
tribes. We saw their meeting with General Hous- 
ton. One and all ran to him, and clasped him in 
their brawny arms, and hugged him, like bears, to 
their naked breasts, and called him ' father. ' Be- 
neath the copper skin and thick paint the blood 
rushed, and their faces changed, and the lips of -many 
a warrior trembled, although the Indian may not 
weep. These wild men knew him, and revered him 
as one who was too directly descended from the Great 
Spirit to be approached with familiarity, and yet they 
loved him so well they coidd not help it. These were 
the men 'he had been,' in the fine language of 
Acquiquosk, whose words we quote, 'too subtle for 
on the war-path, too powerful in battle, too magnani- 
mous in victory, too wise in council, and too true in 
faith.' They had flung away their arms in Texas, 
and with the Comanche chief, who headed their file, 
had come to Washington to see their father." 

In a speech on the treatment of the Indians, De- 
cember 31, 1854, Houston said, "I never knew a case 
when a treaty was made and carried out in good 
faith which was violated by the Indians," and with 
one of his vigorous expressions, "I might have hated 
the Indians if I had a soul no bigger than a shell- 
bark." In an elaborate speech, January 29, 1855, 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 317 

against increasing the army he contended that the 
military methods were not the best way of dealing 
with the Indians, and gave many instances of un- 
called-for severity, injustice, and corruption by army 
officers. He gave his practical views of how to deal 
with the Indians : — 

"Withdraw your army. Have five hundred cav- 
alry, if you will, but I would rather have two hun- 
dred and fifty Texas rangers (such as I could raise) 
than five hundred of the best cavalry now in service. 
I would have one thousand infantry so placed as to 
guard the United States against Mexico, and five 
hundred for scouting purposes. I would have five 
trading-houses from the Rio Grande to the Red River 
for intercourse with the Indians. I would have a 
guard of twenty -five men out of an infantry regiment 
at each trading-house, who would be vigilant and 
always on the alert. Cultivate intercourse with the 
Indians. Show them that you have comforts to ex- 
change for their peltries; bring them around you; 
domesticate them; familiarize them with civilization. 
Let them see that you are rational beings, and they 
will become rational in imitation of you. But take 
no whiskey there at all, not even for the officers, for 
fear their generosity would let it out. Do this, and 
you will have peace with the Indians. Whenever 
you convince an Indian that he is dependent on you 
for comforts or for what he deems luxuries or ele- 
gances of life, you attach him to you. Intercourse 
and kindness will win the fiercest animal on earth, 



318 SAM HOUSTON 

except the hyena, and its spots and nature cannot be 
changed. The nature of an Indian can be changed. 
He changes under favorable circumstances, and rises 
to the dignity of a civilized being. It takes a gener- 
ation or two to regenerate his race, but it can be 
done. I would have fields around the trading-houses. 
I would encourage the Indians to cultivate them. 
Let them see how much it adds to their comfort ; how 
it secures to their wives and children abundant sub- 
sistence, and then you win the Indian over to civili- 
zation^ you charm him, and he becomes a civilized 
man." 

In attending to the confederacy which was said 
to have been formed by the tribes of the Sioux na- 
tion, he said : — 

"Theirs is not a confederacy to assail the whites, 
but to protect themselves. I justify them in doing 
it. I am sorry there is a necessity for it ; but if I 
were among them, and they proposed a confederacy 
to repel cruelty and butchery, I would join them, and 
he would be a dastard who would not! " 

These were words in a different and nobler strain 
than those which the Senate was accustomed to hear 
about the incurable barbarism of the Indians, and the 
"sickly sentimentality " of doing anything with them, 
except rob them of their lands and butcher them if 
they resisted. 

In 1856, there was a movement for the nomination 
of Houston to the Presidency. The General Com- 
mittee of the Democracy of New Hampshire issued 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 319 

an address, urging his nomination as "The People's 
Candidate," on the ground, mainly, of his opposition 
to the Nebraska bill and the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise. A campaign biography, in the usual 
style of extravagant eulogy, was published, and 
Houston made a sort of electioneering tour in some of 
the principal cities in the North, delivering addresses 
on the political condition of the country and on the 
Indian question. This was the period of the brief 
existence of the Know-Nothing party. Whether 
Houston ever definitely joined it is not known, but 
he was in sympathy with its opposition to the easy 
naturalization of foreigners, and was possibly ready 
to become its candidate for the Presidency if it ex- 
hibited itself in any degree of national strength. He 
had voted in the Senate for an allotment of lands to 
the Hungarian refugees, but he was not carried away 
with the popular admiration for Kossuth. When 
Kossuth was received by the Senate the following 
account of his meeting with Houston was given in the 
newspaper report : — 

"Among the incidents of the reception it may be 
mentioned that when the martial figure of General 
Houston approached Kossuth there appeared to be a 
special attraction in the person of the hero of San 
Jacinto. Mr. Houston said, 'Sir, you are welcome 
to the Senate of the United States.' Kossuth feel- 
ingly replied, 'I can only wish I had been as success- 
ful as you, sir. ' To which Houston responded, ' God 
grant you may be, sir.' " 



320 SAM HOUSTON 

Later, he expressed his oj)inion of'Kossuth in very 
unflattering terms, accused him of cowardice in re- 
treating from Hungary without striking a blow, and 
of living in splendor and luxury while his people 
were "left to bite the dust, or gnaw the file in agony." 
The very different treatment which he and the people 
of Texas had received, in comparison with the wild 
enthusiasm over Kossuth and Hungary, evidently ran- 
kled in his thoughts. 

He was promptly accused of his affiliation with the 
Know-Nothings, and of his presidential aspirations, 
and gave a rather equivocal denial of them both in 
the course of a running debate in the Senate. As to 
the Know-Nothings, he said, "I know nothing," but 
he concurred in many of the principles attributed to 
them. He would require "every person coming from 
abroad, before being received here, to bring an in- 
dorsement from one of our consuls, and produce evi- 
dence of good character from the place whence he 
emigrates, so that when he comes here we may receive 
him into full communion, with all the rights guaran- 
teed to him by the laws which may exist at the time 
of his immigration." He declared that he would not 
vote for any bill to prohibit Eoman Catholics from 
holding office. In regard to the Presidency, he said, 
"When the Senator from Iowa supposes that I would 
cater for the Presidency of the United States he does 
me great injustice. I would not cater for any office 
under heaven. But, sir, I know one thing; if it 
were to be forced upon me I would make a great 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 821 

many changes in some small matters." At the con- 
vention of the "American" party in Baltimore, Feb- 
ruary 22, 1856, which nominated Millard Fillmore for 
the Presidency, Houston received three votes. What- 
ever relations he may have had with the Know-No- 
thing party he afterward abandoned, and denounced 
it. In a speech at Nacogdoches he declared the party 
dead, and buried face downward beyond the hope of 
resurrection. 

Houston was undoubtedly aware that his opposition 
to the extreme Southern element was fatal to his 
political ambition. As in the case of Benton, he was 
more bitterly hated and violently attacked on the 
ground that he was a traitor to Southern interests 
than if he had been a Northern antagonist of slavery. 
Henry A. Wise and others made themselves conspic- 
uous by diatribes against him in public meetings in 
Southern cities, and, although Houston made no pub- 
lic reply in the Senate or elsewhere, it is not likely 
that he repressed his tongue in private comment on 
his adversaries, or that they were not made aware of 
his opinion of them. In the Democratic Convention 
of 1856, a "Northern man with Southern principles" 
was nominated, and the Southern conspirators secured 
four years more in which to make their preparations 
for disunion. In the mean time, the extreme element 
had been gaining political power in Texas. The 
feeling of the danger to slave property and of antag- 
onism to the North had been sedulously cultivated, 
and the wealthier planters, who had grown up among 



322 SAM HOUSTON 

the original settlers, acquired the political control. 
They were joined by the old enemies and rivals of 
Houston, and violent attacks were made not only 
upon his so-called apostasy to the South, but his past 
career in Texas. It is probable that Houston realized 
that his course would cost him his seat in the Senate, 
and there are some indications that he was willing 
that it should be so. At least, he made no such de- 
termined attempt to retain his place as Benton had 
done in Missouri. With his strong hold upon the 
people of Texas, and his wonderful power in a per- 
sonal campaign of stump-speaking, he might have de- 
feated the combination against him, and rallied the 
people to his support, as he did later, in 1859, when 
he swept the State against a still more formidable 
opposition. But he made ho special effort to be re- 
elected, and left the canvass to his opponents. It is 
possible that Houston did not feel entirely at home in 
the Senate, where he could not be the undisputed 
leader, as he could be in a popular assembly, and 
really had a longing for the ease and tranquillity of 
private life, such as sometimes comes over the strong- 
est men of action after a life of stress and excitement. 
At any rate, he was defeated for reelection to the Sen- 
ate in the Legislature of 1857, and Lewis T. Wigfall, 
a rampant fire-eater, was chosen in his place. His 
colleague. Senator Rusk, with whom he had been on 
the most affectionate and friendly terms, committed 
suicide by shooting himself at Nacogdoches, July 5, 
1857, from grief at the death of his wife. Houston 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 323 

was nominated as an independent candidate for gov- 
ernor, but manifested little interest in the campaign, 
and was defeated by tbe regular Democratic candi- 
date, Hardin E. Eunneis. The vote stood 32,552 
for Eunneis, and 23,628 for Houston. It was the 
only time in which Houston was ever defeated in an 
election by the people of Texas. 

After his defeat Houston continued the perform- 
ance of his duties in the Senate without sign of dis- 
comfiture. On April 20, 1858, he offered a resolu- 
tion for the appointment of a committee of seven to 
inquire into the expediency of the assumption by the 
United States of a protectorate over Mexico, and 
supported it in an elaborate speech. He described 
the hopeless condition of Mexico, and urged the 
measure as a legitimate extension of the Monroe Doc- 
trine. It was an impracticable scheme, which would 
have eventually compelled the United States to take 
possession of the country, but it is probable that 
Houston hoped that it would arouse a spirit of na- 
tional pride throughout the United States, which 
would divert attention from the sectional quarrels. 
He said, speaking of the era of the promulgation of 
the Monroe Doctrine : — 

"At that glorious epoch there was a broad, tower- 
ing spirit of nationality extant. The States stood in 
the endearing relation to each other of one for all and 
all for one. The Constitution was their political text- 
book, the glory of the Eepublic their resolute aim. 
Practically, there was but one party, and that party 



324 SAM HOUSTON 

animated by but one object, — one upward and on- 
ward career. As if in atonement for tlie wrong in- 
flicted upon the country by the angry Missouri Com- 
promise, which was then fresh in every mind, there 
seemed to be no circumscription which everywhere 
within our embraces displayed itself. May we not 
trust, Mr. President, that a similar result will ensue 
from this still more angry Kansas controversy, and 
that the benign influence of such results will be as 
durable as creation? " 

The country, however, was too much excited for 
any such panacea, and its results would only have 
been mischievous even if it had been adopted. 

On January 12, 1859, Houston advocated the 
southern route for the Pacific Railroad through Texas 
and asked for the preliminary surveys. In the 
course of his speech he alluded to the peace and 
harmony which would exist between the North and 
South, and he was accused by Senator Iverson, of 
Georgia, with being a candidate for the Presidency, 
and with catering for Northern votes. He replied : — 

"If every political party of this Union were to ten- 
der to me this day the nomination for the Presidency 
I would respectfully decline it. I have higher, no- 
bler, tenderer duties to perform. I have to create a 
resting-place for those who are dear to me as the peo- 
ple of this Union, and who form part of them. These 
are the duties I have to perform. If there is aught 
of public service that remains to me unfinished I am 
not apprised of it. My life has been meted out to 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 325 

sixty -five years ; and forty -five years of that life de- 
voted to my country's service, almost continuously, 
should entitle me to an honorable discharge. I claim 
that discharge from my country. I claim that, hav- 
ing performed every duty which devolved upon me 
with fidelity, I ought to be permitted to retire from 
this chamber in accordance with my heart-felt desires, 
with a constitution, thank God, not much impaired, 
and with clean hands and a clean conscience, to the 
retirement where duties are demanded of me as a fa- 
ther. So the defeat which has been spoken of was no 
disappointment, and by way of explanation that the 
gentleman may be more perfectly satisfied, I will say 
that had my lamented and honorable colleague. Gen- 
eral Rusk, remained with us, by the providence of 
God, on the 4th of March last I should have vacated 
my seat, and retired to the walks of private life." 

In conclusion, with that personal seK-appreciation 
which was seldom wanting from his speeches, he ac- 
cused Senator Iverson of playing the part of the ass 
in kicking the face of the dead lion. On February 
23, 1859, he presented the resolutions of the Texas 
legislature, impeaching John C. Watrous, United 
States district judge, and supported them in a long 
and somewhat vindictive account of the charges 
against him. On February 26, he delivered his last 
speech to the Senate. It was a circumstantial review 
and defense of his conduct as commander-in-chief 
during the war of independence in Texas, and a re- 
tort upon the personal character and conduct of some 



326 SAM HOUSTON 

of his accusers. In bidding farewell to the Senators 
he said that he had felt it his duty to cultivate 
kindly personal relations with every one of them. 
His last words were the expression of a prayer that 
" the perpetuity of the Union might he secured to the 
latest posterity." 

It was true that Houston had not carried into the 
Senate his habit of personal quarrel on political ques- 
tions, which he had too often manifested, or readily 
responded to, in the turbulent and passionate rivalries 
and controversies of Texas. He had grown calmer 
since the days when he had struck down Stanberry 
in the streets of Washington, and the sober and de- 
corous atmosphere of the Senate doubtless exercised 
a restraining influence upon him. There is no in- 
stance in which he did not thoroughly maintain the 
proprieties of debate, and his tone toward his fellow- 
Senators was that of the dignified and impressive 
politeness which no one knew better how to exhibit. 
He was a solitary as well as a peculiar figure in the 
Senate, having no share in the counsels of his party, 
and alienated by his political course from the rep- 
resentatives of his own section. He had not the 
education, the training, or the capacity for the argu- 
mentative debates on questions of law and technical 
legislation, which were necessary to command a lead- 
ing place in the Senate, and, although his shrewd and 
practical common sense was often exhibited in mat- 
ters of detail, it was only from his position and his 
fervid utterances against disunion that he attracted 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 327 

national attention, and manifested his wisdom as well 
as his courage. His reverence for the example of 
Jackson doubtless gave his mind its original bias, 
but he perceived with a clear vision the folly of the 
South in precipitating the conflict, in which it was 
sure to be overwhelmed, and his love for the Union 
was enlightened wisdom as well as patriotic passion. 
On the question of slavery he said, "I am not the 
enemy of slavery; neither am I its propagandist, nor 
will I ever be." He was a slave-holder, and accepted 
the institution as a part of the social system in which 
he found himself. But his conscience revolted 
against its iniquitous principle, and his practical sa- 
gacity doubted its continuance. His strength and 
friendship lay with the industrious yeomanry, who 
cultivated their own lands, and he had no sympathy 
or affiliation with the oligarchy of rich planters, who 
were leading the South to ruin. In the Senate, he 
was the last representative of the hardy frontiersmen 
who had built their cabins in the primeval forest, or 
turned the soil of the virgin prairie, and he saw with 
regret the growth of that class at the South who 
were monopolizing the land for great plantations, and 
were creating an aristocracy of wealth, based on slave 
labor. To him and to Thomas H. Benton is due the 
credit of representing the true welfare of the South, 
and with courage and wisdom resisting the tendencies 
which were leading it to destruction, and to the social 
and industrial decadence which would have followed, 
even if there had been no civil war. 



328 SAM HOUSTON 

Mr. Oliver Dyer, in his book of reminiscences of 
Washington, "Great Senators of the United States," 
gives an interesting account of Houston's appearance 
and manners in the Senate in 1848 : — 

" It was not without apprehension that I first ap- 
proached General Houston, and looked him over, as 
he stood in an ante-room of the Senate chamber, talk- 
ing with his colleague. Senator Kusk. I was not 
disappointed in his appearance. It was easy to be- 
lieve in his heroism, and to imagine him leading a 
heady fight and dealing destruction on his foes. He 
was then only fifty -five years old, and seemed to be 
in perfect health and admirable physical condition. 
He was a magnificent barbarian, somewhat tempered 
with civilization. He was large of frame, of stately 
carriage and dignified demeanor, and had a lion-like 
countenance, capable of expressing the fiercest pas- 
sions. His dress was peculiar, but it was becoming 
to his style. The conspicuous features of it were a 
military cap and a short military cloak of fine blue 
broadcloth with a blood-red lining. Afterward I 
occasionally met him, when he wore a vast and pic- 
turesque sombrero and a Mexican blanket, — a sort 
of ornamented bed-quilt, with a slit in the middle, 
through which the wearer's head is thrust, leaving 
the blanket to hang in graceful folds around the body. 

"Like other men of his class General Houston was 
a hearty drinker, but he seldom showed the effect of 
his potations. It seemed to me as though his wild 
life had unfitted him for civilization. He was not 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 329 

a man to shine in a deliberative assembly. It was 
only at rare intervals that he took any part in the 
debates, and when he did speak his remarks were 
brief. His principal employment in the Senate was 
whittling pine sticks. I used to wonder where he 
got his pine lumber, but never fathomed the mystery. 
He would sit and whittle away, and at the same time 
keep up a muttering of discontent at the long-winded 
speakers, whom he would sometimes curse for their 
intolerable Verbosity. Those who knew him well 
said that he was tender-hearted, and had a chivalric 
regard for women ; that he would make any personal 
sacrifice to promote the welfare of a lady friend, — a 
reputation that was directly in line with his alleged 
conduct toward his wife. It was a matter of com- 
mon jocose remark that if 'Old Sam Jacinto ' (that 
was Houston's nickname) should ever become Presi- 
dent, he would have a cabinet of women. 

"General Houston impressed me as a lonely, mel- 
ancholy man. And if the story of his early life was 
true he might well be lonely and melancholy, in spite 
of his success and his fame; for that blow which 
smote him to the heart at the zenith of his splendid 
young career, and dislocated his life and drove him 
into the wilderness, must have inflicted wounds that 
no political triumphs or military glory could heal." 

Somewhat singularly, considering their marked con- 
trast in education and temperament, Houston appears 
to have attracted the regard and approval of Charles 
Sumner. In a letter to John Bigelow, February 3, 



330 SAM HOUSTON 

1851, Sumner wrote: "I am won very much by 
Houston's conversation. With him the anti -slavery 
interests would stand better than with any man who 
now seems among the possibilities. He is really 
against slavery, and has no prejudices against Free- 
Soilers. In other respects he is candid, liberal, and 
honorable. I have been astonished to find myself so 
much of his inclining." 

During his early residence as a Senator in Wash- 
ington, Houston "experienced religion," as it is 
termed. In an account of his conversion given by 
Eev. G. W. Simpson, his pastor in Washington, it 
is stated that "one Sunday, the tall form of Sam 
Houston, as he was familiarly called, draped in his 
Mexican blanket as a shield against the blasts of 
winter, was seen entering the sanctuary of the Baptist 
Church near the City Hall. Approaching the pas- 
tor after the service he said that respect for his wife, 
one of the best Christians on earth, had brought him 
there. He attended regularly thereafter, and kept up 
his habit of whittling toys for children in his pew. 
He paid close attention to the sermons, and was in 
the habit of giving abstracts of them in the weekly 
letters which he regularly wrote to his wife on Sun- 
day afternoons. After a few months a sermon on 
the text, "Better is he that ruleth his spirit than he 
that taketh a city," moved him to a sense of his 
spiritual needs, and his thoughts and reading became 
more and more of a religious character. He was 
much influenced by a book by one Nelson on " The 



SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES 331 

Cause and Cure of Infidelity," and gave copies of it 
to his friends. Finally, lie made an open profession 
of religion, and received the ordinance of baptism by 
immersion at Independence, Texas, in 1854. His 
reading of the Bible was continuous and earnest, and 
its phraseology and imagery found frequent places 
in his speeches. His pastor relates an anecdote in 
somewhat exaggerated phraseology of his reconcilia- 
tion with a personal enemy under the influence of an 
appeal to his religious sentiment : — 

"Calling early after his arrival to see him, an hour 
was spent in conversation on his profession and the 
grounds which had led to it. On rising to leave, 
the pastor was followed as usual to the door, and, as 
often happened, the General asked: 'Brother S., is 
there anything I can do for you?' — his reference 
being to claims of humanity sometimes presented to 
him. The reply was, 'No, General, I have no tax 
upon you at present.' Immediately, however, the 
recollection was awakened that the next Sabbath was 
the season for the Lord's Supper, and that with one 
of the leading brethren of the church General Hous- 
ton had formerly a trying and yet unsettled contro- 
versy in his official capacity as the head of a Senate 
committee. At once, prompted by the recollection, 
the pastor added, still holding his hand, 'General, 
I recall that statement in part; I have nothing to ask 
of you as a man, but I have something to ask of you 
as a Christian pastor.' Fixing his keen eye, as he 
looked down, upon mine, he meekly but firmly asked. 



\/ 



332 SAM HOUSTON 

'What is it, Brother S.?' 'General,' was the re- 
ply, 'you know the alienation between you and 
Brother W. You will meet at the Lord's Supper 
next Sabbath evening; you onjght not to meet until 
that difficulty is settled. Now I wish you after ser- 
vice on Sunday morning to let me bring you two to- 
gether, and without a word of attempt at justification 
on either side, I wish you to take him by the hand, 
and say with all your heart that you will forgive and 
forget and bury the past, and that you wish him to 
do the same, and hereafter to meet as brothers 
in Christ.' The fire began to glow in his eyes, his 
brow to knit, his teeth to clench, and his whole frame 
shook with the struggle of the old man within him ; 
but in an instant the man whose passion had been 
terrible, indeed ungovernable, on so many a bloody 
battle-field, was changed from the lion into the lamb. 
He meekly replied, 'Brother S., I will do it.' And 
what he promised was done, and in an air of majestic 
frankness and nobleness of soul such as moved every 
beholder." 

At the conclusion of his term in the Senate, Hous- 
ton returned to his home in Texas, possibly with the 
hope that his later years might be spent in peace and 
freedom from public care. 



CHAPTER XV 
GOVERNOR OF TEXAS — SECESSION 

Whatever hopes Houston may have had of being 
able to pass his declining years in peace and tranquil- 
lity, he found the political condition of Texas more 
excited and disturbed than at any period since the 
revolution, and that it was necessary for him to gird 
up his loins for a tremendous struggle against the 
conspirators, who were endeavoring to array the State 
against the Union. The secession element in Texas 
was more desperate and determined than in any of 
the Southern States, except South Carolina. It 
was also more discreditable and criminal. In South 
Carolina the movement was more general, and in a 
certain sense more patriotic. It was founded on a 
definite theory of government, logically held and 
argued, and it represented the spirit of State pride 
and independence. In Texas, on the other hand, it 
was more selfish, and took the darker form of con- 
spiracy. Its leaders were the adventurers who were 
in sympathy with Walker in his attempts to subju- 
gate Central America, and with Lopez in his descent 
upon the island of Cuba, and were eager for any 
scheme that promised them power and plunder. 
Their avowed purpose was the reopening of the Afri- 



334 SAM HOUSTON 

can slave trade, and tlieir unacknowledged, and per- 
haps unformulated, plans were for the formation of a 
buccaneer empire, with unlimited designs for aggres- 
sion and plunder upon their Spanish-American neigh- 
bors. They were represented by a secret society, 
called "The Knights of the Golden Circle," which 
had a regular military organization, was well supplied 
with arms, and had a considerable fund of money. 
The organization was originally formed to set on foot 
or support filibuster expeditions like those of Walker 
and Lopez, but the growing antagonism between the 
North and South offered them a more tempting field 
in the shape of a Southern empire, which they hoped 
to control for their purposes. Their lodges, called 
"castles," were established in all the principal towns, 
and it was estimated that at the outbreak of the 
secession difficulty they had a force of 8000 men, 
formed in regular military organization and to some 
extent disciplined. They were active in politics, and 
by their power and energy controlled the official ac- 
tion of the Democratic party. Governor Runnels 
was in sympathy with this element, as was also the 
majority of the legislature during his administration. 
During the excitement of the struggle to force the 
admission of slavery into Kansas, Governor Runnels 
issued a special message to the legislature, calling 
attention to the threatened aggressions upon Southern 
rights, and distinctly foreshadowing secession. The 
legislature adopted a resolution denouncing the at- 
tempts of the Northern States to exclude slavery 



SECESSION CONSPIRACY 335 

from Kansas, and to prevent the slave-holders from 
carrying their property into the common territory of 
the Union. It authorized the governor to order an 
election of seven delegates to a convention of the 
Southern States, and, in case such a convention was 
not held, to call a special session of the legislature 
to consider the question of Texas resuming her inde- 
pendence. 

These open attacks upon the permanency of the 
Union aroused and alarmed the majority of the citi- 
zens, who were opposed to secession and the filibuster 
designs of the conspirators. In the Democratic Con- 
vention of 1859, which renominated Runnels, a plat- 
form was adopted advocating secession in the contin- 
gency of the further invasion of Southern rights, and 
there was an outspoken expression of opinion in favor 
of reopening the slave trade. The party in favor of 
reopening the slave trade did not confine themselves 
to declarations. Two cargoes of barbarian slaves 
from Africa were landed in chains, one near Galves- 
ton and one near Indianola, and distributed through 
the country. These events caused great excitement 
and indignation among the conservative and Unionist 
classes, and they determined upon political action in 
opposition to the secession Democracy. Houston was 
the natural leader from his personal popularity among 
the people and his vigorous denunciations of dis- 
union. There was no definite organization of the 
party, but at a public meeting at Brenham, Hous- 
ton was nominated for governor by acclamation. He 



336 SAM HOUSTON 

accepted in a letter which declared that "the Consti- 
tution and the Union embraced all the principles by 
which he would be governed." 

The campaign that followed was one of the most 
notable and exciting which had ever taken place 
in Texas. It demonstrated Houston's tremendous 
hold upon the common people and his extraordinary 
power as a stump-speaker. All the party machin- 
ery, most of the prominent public men, and the influ- 
ential newspapers were against him. Almost single- 
handed he defeated them all. He made a thorough 
canvass of the State, speaking in nearly every town 
and village. He aroused the enthusiasm of the peo- 
ple by his eloquent appeals for the preservation of 
the Union, replied to the vindictive personal attacks 
made upon him by his opponents with a vituperation 
more scathing than their own, tickled his audiences 
by his familiar and sometimes coarse humor, and 
strengthened the attachment of his personal followers 
by his cordial greetings and intimate conversation. 
There was no one like Houston for a Texas audience. 
In joint debates he simply overwhelmed his competi- 
tors, and treated them with a contempt partly real 
and partly affected, as if it was insolence on their 
part to attempt to speak on the same platform with 
him. One after another they retired discomfited, 
and in his closing speech at Galveston he reckoned 
them up with contemptuous personal epithets. This 
is a specimen of the manner in which he dealt with 
them, and manifested his confidence in his hold upon 



CANVASS FOR GOVERNOR 337 

the people. Senator Wigfall liad been replying to 
him in Eastern Texas. At a meeting in the court- 
house of one of the towns, at which Wigfall was pres- 
ent, Houston concluded his speech by saying : " I am 
told that there is a little fellow by the name of Wig- 
tail, or some such name, following me about and try- 
ing to answer my speeches. What he will tell you 
will be a pack of lies." So saying he stalked out, 
followed by a portion of the audience, leaving Wig- 
fall to make his speech to the remainder. Houston, 
as was his custom, seated himself upon a store-box 
on the sidewalk among his friends, and commenced 
whittling and talking familiarly about their families, 
the crops, and the neighborhood gossip. But all the 
while he kept his eye on the court-house door. When 
the audience began to come out after the conclusion 
of Wigfall' s speech, he rose up to his full height, 
and, waving his big white hat, shouted, "Didn't I 
say to you that he 'd tell you a pack of lies? " His 
familiar and caustic humor was equally taking, and 
the anecdotes of his sayings were relished at every 
cross-roads grocery and by every cabin fire. At the 
town of Milam a young lawyer, the son of an old 
friend of Houston, had established his office. Houston 
visited him, and talked with him in his usual cordial 
and impressive manner about his family and pros- 
pects. Later, while seated among a group of his 
friends in front of a store, he was informed that the 
young lawyer was the only man in the town who was 
going to vote against him. Presently the young man 



338 SAM HOUSTON 

passed the group. Houston asked in a tone loud 
enougli for him to hear, " Who is that long, gangling 
scarecrow, who is going by? " This was considered 
a touch of humor, worthy of "Old Sam," and became 
the current joke of the neighborhood. Houston's 
triumph was in chief measure that of his personal 
influence. His course in opposing the Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill had been generally disapproved, and he 
had been defeated in the previous camj)aign in which 
he had not made an active personal canvass. He 
rallied and invigorated the Union sentiment, and 
converted a minority into a majority. The actions 
of the extreme element had undoubtedly alarmed 
the conservative portion of the community, but it is 
extremely improbable that the Union sentiment would 
have preponderated if Houston had not given it force 
and energy. As it was, the majority of the legisla- 
ture was in the hands of the disunionists, and his 
associates in the Executive, except one, were swept 
away by the tide, when it arose. A considerable 
portion of his vote was due simply to the fact that 
he was "Sam Houston," and had a strong personal 
party, which would have followed and supported bins 
under any circumstances. He received 36,257 vote^^- 
to 27,500 for Eunnels. 

Houston was inaugurated as Governor December* 
21, 1859. He sent his message to the legislature 
January 15. Mexican banditti, under the command 
of Juan de Cortinas, had been preying upon the peo- 
ple on the border of the Eio Grande, and the Indians 



GOVERNOR OF TEXAS 339 

had been especially troublesome and dangerous on 
the frontier. Houston promptly applied to the gov- 
ernment of the United States for additional troops, 
and organized three companies of rangers to patrol 
the frontier. He asked the legislature for an ap- 
propriation to pay them. He recommended various 
changes in the departments, and strongly urged lib- 
eral appropriations for the public schools. In regard 
to the relations of Texas with the United States, he 
congratulated the, legislature on the triumph of con- 
servatism in the nation, and the evident purpose to 
repress the dangerous agitators on both sides. He 
said, "Texas will maintain the Constitution and 
stand by the Union. It is all that can save us as a 
nation. Destroy it and anarchy awaits us." 

The excitement over the coming presidential elec- 
tion was rising to fever heat. Houston took no active 
part in the campaign. He was opposed to the elec- 
tion of Lincoln as the representative of Northern 
aggression against slavery. He was equally opposed 
to the election of Breckenridge and of Douglas, as 
he had vowed never to vote for any man who had 
supported the Kansas -Nebraska bill. He saw no 
ciiance for the election of Bell, and, besides, did not 
regard him as a competent man for the Presidency. 
Tn a private letter from Austin, dated September 8, 
1860, he declared that he stood with folded arms in 
regard to the candidates, and he could see no way 
out of the difficulty except by the election of mem- 
bers of the Electoral College who would be pledged to 



340 SAM HOUSTON 

vote for a Union man, regardless of the official can- 
didates. This was obviously a hopeless and impossi- 
ble scheme. On the 22d of September there was a 
grand Union mass meeting at Austin. Houston ad- 
dressed it in an eloquent and forcible speech, rising 
from a sick-bed to do so. He spoke of the glories 
of the common country and its great destiny, and 
pointed out the weakness of any State which aban- 
doned the Union. He declared that the possible tri- 
umph of the Republican party would not be a suffi- 
cient cause for the dissolution of the Union : — 

"But if, through division in the ranks of those op- 
posed to Mr. Lincoln, he should be elected, we have 
no excuse for dissolving the Union. The Union is 
worth more than Mr. Lincoln, and, if the battle is to 
be fought for the Constitution, let us fight it in the 
Union and for the sake of the Union. With a ma- 
jority of the people in favor of the Constitution, shall 
we desert the government, and leave it in the hands 
of the minority? A new obligation will be imposed 
upon us, to guard the Constitution and to see that 
no infraction of it is attempted or permitted. If Mr. 
Lincoln administers the government in accordance 
with the Constitution, our rights must be respected. 
If he does not, the Constitution provides a remedy." 

He denounced the disunion agitators of the South 
as merely reckless and mischievous conspirators, who 
owned no property and had no interest in slavery. 
"I know some of them, who are making the most 
fuss, who would not make good negroes if they were 



GOVERNOR OF TEXAS 341 

blacked." He paid an affecting tribute to tbe memo- 
ries of Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson, and ap- 
pealed to the old Whigs and old Democrats to follow 
the example of their great leaders in devotion to the 
Union. He concluded with words of powerful and 
pathetic eloquence : — 

"When I look back and remember the names that 
are canonized as the tutelar saints of liberty, and the 
warnings they have given you against disunion, I 
cannot believe that you will be led astray. I cannot 
be long among you. My sands of life are fast run- 
ning out. As the glass becomes exhausted, if I can 
feel that I can leave my country prosperous and 
united, I shall die content. To leave men with whom 
I have mingled in troublous times, and whom I have 
learned to love as brothers; to leave the children of 
those whom I have seen pass away, after lives of de- 
votion to the Union; to leave the people who have 
borne me up and sustained me; to leave my coun- 
try, and not feel the liberty and happiness I have 
enjoyed would still be theirs, would be the worst pang 
of death. I am to leave children among you, to 
share the fate of your children. Think you I feel 
no interest in the future for their sakes? We are 
passing away. They must encounter the evils which 
are to come. In the far distant future the genera- 
tions that spring from our loins are to venture in the 
path of glory and honor. If untrammeled, who can 
tell the mighty progress they will make? If cut 
adrift, if the calamitous curse of disunion is inflicted 



342 SAM HOUSTON 

upon them, who can picture their misfortune and 
shame?" 

Houston believed in the prevalence of the Union 
sentiment among the people of the South, and endeav- 
ored to give it an opportunity for expressing itself. 
He addressed letters to the Governors of the South- 
ern States, proposing a convention, and issued a 
proclamation for an election to be held early in Feb- 
ruary for the choice of the seven delegates under the 
resolution of the previous legislature for that pur- 
pose. But events anticipated the election, and it was 
never held. The Governors of the Southern States, 
who were all disunionists, paid no attention to Hous- 
ton's letters. He was denounced everywhere as a 
traitor to the South. Senator Wigfall said in Vir- 
ginia that he ought to, be tarred and feathered and 
driven from the State. Senator Iverson, of Georgia, 
his old antagonist in the Senate, went so far as to hint 
at his assassination. He said, "Some Texan Brutus 
may arise to rid his country of this old, hoary -headed 
traitor." 

Lincoln was elected. South Carolina seceded, and 
applied to the other Southern States to unite and 
form a confederacy. The demand for action on the 
invitation was so strong that Houston called a special 
session of the legislature to meet January 21. Al- 
ready illegal steps had been taken to force the State 
out of the Union. A proclamation had been issued 
from Austin, signed by about sixty citizens, clerks in 
the departments and others, calling for a general 



GOVERNOR OF TEXAS 343 

election to be held on January 8, for a convention 
of delegates from the people to meet on January 28. 
The election was held, but only a comparatively few 
of the people recognized its validity, the total num- 
ber of votes cast being less than 10,000. It was to 
forestall the action of this illegal body that Houston 
called the legislature together and recommended a 
properly called and constituted convention. In his 
message he declared that he believed that the time 
had come for the people of Texas to take action in 
accordance with their sovereign will. While deplor- 
ing the election of Messrs. Lincoln and Hamlin, he 
could see no reason in it for the immediate and sepa- 
rate secession of Texas. He deprecated any hasty 
action, and thought that means should be taken for 
the people to express their will by legal means. 
"They have stood aloof from revolutionary measures, 
and now demand an opportunity to express their will 
through the ballot box." He had not lost faith that 
their rights could be maintained in the Union, and 
that it might yet be perpetuated. Between constitu- 
tional remedies and anarchy and civil war, he could 
see no middle course. In his message, January 24, 
transmitting the resolutions of the legislature of 
South Carolina, Houston declared his "unqualified 
protest against and dissent from the principles enunci- 
ated in the resolutions." He argued against the right 
of secession on constitutional grounds, and showed 
the total lack of any guarantee of permanency in a 
new confederacy. He concluded : — 



344 SAM HOUSTON 

"I would therefore recommend the adoption of 
resolutions dissenting from the assertion of the ab- 
stract right of secession and refusing to send deputies 
for any present existing cause, and urging upon the 
people of all the States, North and South, the neces- 
sity of cultivating brotherly feeling, observing jus- 
tice, and attending to their own affairs." 

The convention met on the day appointed, and the 
legislature promptly adopted a resolution recognizing 
its authority. Houston vetoed it on the ground that 
its election had been illegal. The resolution was 
passed over his veto. The convention immediately 
adopted an ordinance of secession by a vote of 167 
to 7, and provided for its submission to the people 
at an election on February 23. Without waiting 
for its ratification, the convention elected delegates 
to the Congress of the Southern States at Montgom- 
ery, and appointed a Committee of Public Safety, of 
which John C. Robertson was president. The Com- 
mittee of Public Safety immediately took steps to 
secure the arms and military property of the United 
States, and appointed three commissioners to arrange 
for the terms of their surrender with General David 
E. Twiggs, the commander of the troops in the 
Department. 

The military Department of Texas was the most 
important and richly supplied of any in the United 
States. The demands for the protection of the line 
of the Rio Grande against the predatory incursions of 
the Mexicans, and of the exposed frontiers against 



SECESSION 345 

the dangerous wild tribes of Indians, had called a 
large jDortion of the army to be stationed there. It 
was scattered in various posts along the Eio Grande 
and on the northern frontier for more than a thou- 
sand miles, and numbered about 2500 men. There 
was an immense amount of arms and military stores 
collected at the headquarters of the Department at 
San Antonio. General Twiggs, the commander of 
the Department, was an old and somewhat distin- 
guished officer of the army. He was in feeble health, 
and had long been on leave of absence at his residence 
in Louisiana. He sympathized thoroughly with the 
secession movement, and was undoubtedly in com- 
munication with its leaders. He returned unexpect- 
edly to resume the command on the 5th of December, 
1860, superseding Colonel Eobert E. Lee, who per- 
haps could not be relied on to do the necessary work. 
He immediately began issuing leaves of absence to 
the officers, and still farther scattering the troops. 
He expressed himself as convinced that the Union ^ 
was already dissolved, and declared that he would 
never order his soldiers to fire on American citizens. 
He intimated that when a demand was made on him 
by the State, he would surrender the property of the 
government. Houston was informed of these asser- 
tions on the part of Twiggs, and for the purpose of 
testing him, or of obtaining the control of the arms 
in his own hands to thwart the designs of the seces- 
sionists, he sent on January 20, the day before the 
meeting of the legislature, .a special messenger to 
Twiggs with the following letter : — 



346 SAM HOUSTON 

My dear General, — The present pressure of 
important events necessarily induces prompt action 
on the part of all public functionaries. In this view 
of the matter, I send to you General J. M. Smith of 
this State on a confidential mission, to know what in 
the present crisis you consider your duty to do, as to 
maintaining in behalf of the Federal Government or 
passing over to the State the possession of the posts, 
arsenals, and public property within the State; and 
also, if a demand for the possession of the same is 
made by the Executive, you are authorized, or it 
would be conformable to your sense of duty, to place 
in possession of the authorities of the State the posts, 
arms, munitions, and property of the Federal Govern- 
ment, on the order of the Executive, to an officer of 
the State, empowered to receive and receipt for the 
same. 

The course is suggested by the fact that information 
has reached the Executive that an effort will be made 
by an unauthorized mob to take forcibly and appro- 
priate the public stores and property to uses of their 
own, assuming to act on behalf of the State. 

Any arrangements made with you by General 
Smith will be sanctioned and approved by me, and 
should you require any assistance in resisting the con- 
templated and unauthorized attack upon the public 
property, and to place the same in possession of the 
state authorities, you are authorized to call on the 
mayor and citizens of San Antonio for such assist- 
ance as you may deem necessary. 



SECESSION 347 

I will hope to hear from you, General, by my con- 
fidential agent, General Smith, as soon as he can 
have the honor of a conference with you on matters 
embraced in the present epoch of our national af- 
fairs. 

I am, General, yours very truly, 

Sam Houston. 

But Twiggs had no intention of putting the arms 
into the hands of any such Union man as Houston. 
He replied curtly that he was without instructions 
from the government, and that "after secession, in 
case the Executive of the State makes a demand 
upon the commander of the Department, he will re- 
ceive an answer." 

Whether Houston believed that by obtaining pos- 
session of the arms he could overawe the disunionists 
and prevent the secession of the State, or whether he 
merely wished to obtain a definite knowledge of the 
purposes of Twiggs, is unknown. His whole course 
showed that he preferred to submit to secession rather 
than to involve the State in civil war, although, per- 
haps, if he had been supported by the Federal Gov- 
ernment before the movement became so strong he 
might have resisted it. An account given by Rev. 
William M. Baker would indicate that he had such a 
purpose. A Texan merchant, and intimate friend of 
Houston's, stated that Houston informed him that 
President Lincoln, although not yet inaugurated, had 
sent Colonel F. W. Lander to him with a message 



348 SAM HOUSTON 

that lie should have all the help he wanted, as soon 
as Lincoln took office, if he could only hold the State 
until then. Said Houston, "General Twiggs has 
agreed to do what he can to help me. I have 800 
men waiting to come at a word. Volunteers will 
come in. I am sure that I can, with the aid of Gen- 
eral Twiggs, hold Texas against any force the Con- 
federacy may send." He then made a contract with 
the merchant for a supply of rations. The following 
is the account of the interview with Houston after he 
had received General Twiggs's reply to his mes- 
sage : — 

"The instant the Governor had locked me with 
him in his inner office, he turned to me with rage in 
his face. 'Sir,' said he to me, in a manner and tone 
which I can never forget, 'Twiggs is a traitor!' 
Then he sank down into his chair, the tears trickling 
down his heroic countenance, and sobbed like a child. 
He then clenched his fist and smote the table, with 
what seemed to be a suppressed curse, long and 
deep. After he had somewhat recovered he repeated 
to me the message that Captain Smith had brought 
him from Twiggs. It was in such cautious language 
as to the General's -isolation and want of instruc- 
tions from Washington that I suggested to Governor 
Houston that possibly he misunderstood General 
Twiggs. 'No,' the Governor exclaimed, again smit- 
ing the table with his huge fist, 'there can be no mis- 
take. Twiggs is a traitor ! We are to have a fear- 
ful civil war. ' And he appealed to God for wisdom 



SECESSION 349 

and protection in a manner which touched me to the 
heart." 

There was unquestionably a force in Texas which 
Houston could have called on, ardent supporters of 
himself as well as advocates of the Union, and he 
might perhaps, with the aid of the United States 
troops, have defeated the secession element. But it 
would have plunged the State into a civil war, and 
the action of Twiggs prevented the show of any com- 
manding strength at first to turn the scale in favor 
of the Unionists. 

The commissioners appointed by the Committee 
of Public Safety acted promptly. On February 11 
they made a demand upon General Twiggs for the 
surrender of all the arms, munitions of war, and pub- 
lic property belonging to the United States in the 
Department of Texas. There were some negotiations 
between the commissioners and the board of officers 
appointed by General Twiggs in regard to terms. 
Twiggs insisted upon the retention of the arms then 
in the hands of the soldiers, and of some pieces of 
light artillery. Colonel Benjamin M'Cullogh had 
been appointed by the Committee of Public Safety to 
raise and take command of troops in behalf of the 
State, and appeared in San Antonio with a force of 
about 1200 men. The terms of the surrender were 
agreed upon. The troops were to have transportation 
to the coast, and to be permitted to return to the 
United States. The debts due from the quartermas- 
ter's department were to be paid out of the funds 



350 SAM HOUSTON 

delivered to the commissioners. The soldiers were 
to retain their arms. The surrender was executed on 
February 18, before the people had voted on the 
ordinance of secession, and after an order had arrived 
from Washington, relieving General Twiggs from 
the command of the Department and directing him 
to turn it over to Colonel Carlos A. Waite, the 
senior officer. Colonel Waite was absent from San 
Antonio, but arrived a few hours after the surrender 
was made. The number of men surrendered was 
about 2500, and the value of the property $1,200,- 
000. The sum of $50,000 in money was turned over 
to the commissioners, and they afterward seized 
130,000 sent to the State to pay the troops. Bodies 
of Texan troops were sent to demand the surrender 
of the various detachments in the forts and posts 
along the Rio Grande and on the frontier, and, after 
some indignant remonstrances on the part of the 
officers in command, they were given up. Strong 
efforts were made to induce the officers and men to 
take service with the Confederacy, but only a few of 
the officers of Southern birth did so, almost all of 
the enlisted men remaining faithful to their flag. 
General Twiggs, having accomplished his purpose, 
returned to New Orleans, and on March 1 was dis- 
missed from the army for treachery by order of Sec- 
retary Holt. Owing to the lack of transportation, 
but few of the troops were removed from Texas 
before the outbreak of the war between the United 
States and the Confederacy, and the remainder were 



SECESSION 351 

made prisoners of war, in violation of the agreement 
with the commissioners, by order of Colonel Van 
Dorn, and compelled to give their parole not to bear 
arms against the Confederacy until exchanged. 

Whatever purpose Houston may have entertained 
at the beginning of the troubles, he abandoned any 
design of forcible resistance to secession after the 
surrender of the United States troops. On March 
18, after the new administration of Lincoln had 
determined to maintain the Union by force. General 
Scott sent orders to Colonel Waite to form an in- 
trenched camp at Indianola, and put himself in com- 
munication with Governor Houston, to offer him 
assistance in defense of the Federal authority. If 
neither Houston nor any other authority had any 
considerable number of men in arms in defense of the 
Federal Government, Colonel Waite was to consider 
his orders to form an intrenched camp withdrawn. 
Colonel Wait6^ communicated with Houston, offering 
his assistance, and received the following reply : — 

Austin, March 29, 1861. 

Dear Sir, — I have received intelligence that you 
have, or will soon receive orders to concentrate 
United States troops under your command at Indian- 
ola, in this State, to sustain me in the exercise of 
my official functions. Allow me most respectfully to 
decline any such assistance of the United States gov- 
ernment, and to most earnestly protest against the 
concentration of troops in fortifications in Texas, and 



352 SAM HOUSTON 

request that you remove all such troops out of the 
State at the earliest day practicable, or, at any rate, 
by all means take no action towards hostile move- 
ments till farther ordered by the Government at 
Washington City, or particularly of Texas. 

Thine, Sam Houston. 

Colonel Lander also wrote to Colonel Waite ad- 
vising him to take no action that would give the se- 
cession party the idea that the Federal Government 
intended to coerce the State. Colonel Waite in- 
formed General Scott that it was the feeling of the 
Unionists that they could effect a peaceable change in 
the views of the inhabitants of the State by means of 
the press and the ballot box, and that they believed 
that a few thousand dollars in the support of newspa- 
pers throughout the State would produce a complete 
revolution in public sentiment. There was evidently 
at first a considerable Union sentiment among the 
people of Texas. In San Antonio there was a strong 
party opposed to secession, and in Austin a large 
mass meeting was held just before the election on 
the secession ordinance, at which there was a pole 
erected and a United States flag displayed. 

Houston made a speech at Galveston, which was 
the hot-bed of secession, a few days before the elec- 
tion. When he arrived his friends gathered about 
him, and asked him not to speak, as there was immi- 
nent danger of mob violence. He replied that he 
had been threatened before, and should certainly 



SECESSION 353 

make his speech. It was delivered from the balcony 
of the Tremont House at eleven o'clock in the fore- 
noon to an excited throng that filled the street. As 
he had often done before, Houston overawed the 
crowd, and compelled a respectful attention. Mr. 
Thomas North, a Northern man who lived in Texas 
during the war, thus describes Houston's appearance 
when speaking : — 

"There he stood, an old man of seventy years, on 
the balcony ten feet above the heads of the thousands 
assembled to hear him, where every eye could scan 
his magnificent form, six feet and three inches high, 
straight as an arrow, with deep-set and penetrating 
eyes, looking out from heavy and thundering eye- 
brows, a high open forehead, with something of the 
infinite intellectual shadowed there, crowned with the 
white locks, partly erect, seeming to give capillary 
conduction to the electric fluid used by his massive 
brain, and a voice of the deep basso tone, which 
shook and commanded the soul of the hearer; add- 
ing to all this a powerful manner, made up of de- 
liberation, self-possession, and restrained majesty of 
action, leaving the hearer impressed with the feeling 
that more of his power was hidden than revealed. 
Thus appeared Sam Houston on this grand occasion, 
equal and superior to it, as he always was to every 
other. He paralyzed the arm of the mobocrat by his 
personal presence, and it was morally impossible for 
him to be mobbed in Texas, and, if not there, then 
not anywhere." 



354 SAAI HOUSTON 

He spoke with great force and eloquence of the 
disasters which would surely follow secession, and 
of the certainty of the defeat of the South. He said : 

" Some of you laugh to scorn the idea of bloodshed 
as the result of secession, and jocularly propose to 
drink all the blood that will ever flow in consequence 
of it. But let me tell you what is coming on the 
heels of secession. The time will come when your 
fathers and husbands, your sons and brothers, will be 
herded together like sheep and cattle at the point of 
the bayonet ; and your mothers and wives, and sisters 
and daughters, will ask, 'Where are they? ' and echo 
will answer. Where ? You may, after the sacrifice of 
countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thou- 
sands of precious lives, as a bare possibility, win 
Southern independence, if God be not against you; 
but I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with 
you in the doctrine of state rights, the North is de- 
termined to preserve this Union. They are not a 
fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in 
colder climates. But when they begin to move in a 
given direction, where great interests are involved, 
such as the present issue before the country, they 
move with the steady momentum and perseverance of 
a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will 
overwhelm the South with ignoble defeat, and I 
would say Amen to the suffering and defeat I have 
pictured, if the present difficulties could find no other 
solution, and that, too, by peaceable means. I be- 
lieve they can. Otherwise I would say, 'Better die 
freemen than live slaves.' " 



SECESSION 355 

In conclusion he said, however, that he should 
abide by the action of his State : — 

"Whatever course my State shall determine to 
pursue, my faith in state supremacy and state rights 
will carry my sympathies with her. And as Henry 
Clay, my political opponent on annexation, said, 
when asked why he allowed his son to go into the 
Mexican war, ' My country, right or wrong, ' so I 
say. My State, right or wrong." 

But Houston could not stem the tide. The seces- 
sionists were active and violent. Armed bands in- 
timidated the citizens, and mob rule prevailed. In 
some sections Union men were hung, or compelled to 
flee for their lives. Houses were burned, and prop- 
erty destroyed. The Union men were still farther 
discouraged by the news of the surrender of Twiggs, 
and that the Federal Government made no sign of 
giving them support. But the prevalence of the 
Union sentiment was indicated by the fact that at the 
election out of about 80,000 voters only 52,246 cast 
their ballots. Of these 34,415 were for secession, 
and 13,841 against it. 

The convention reassembled after the election, and 
took steps to unite Texas with the Confederacy. It 
accepted the Confederate Constitution, and elected 
members of the Confederate Congress. A committee 
was appointed to inform Houston of its action. He 
protested against it, declaring that the convention 
had no farther authority from the people after it had 
submitted the ordinance of secession for their ratifica- 



356 SAM HOUSTON 

tion. In the mean time the Confederate authorities 
had assumed jurisdiction over Texas. Before the 
convention had reassembled, L. Pope Walker, the 
Confederate Secretary of War, sent a circular to 
Houston announcing that the President of the Con- 
federate States assumed control of all military opera- 
tions in the State, and over lall questions relating to 
foreign powers. Houston replied that by the act of 
secession Texas had become independent, and was 
not yet united with the Confederacy. He denied 
the authority of the convention to unite Texas with 
the Confederate States without the sanction of the 
people. The protest was in mild terms, and at its 
conclusion he said : — 

"The States which have formed the Provisional 
Government have his ardent wishes for their welfare 
and prosperity. The people of Texas are now bound 
to them in feeling and sympathy no less closely than 
when members of a common Union. Like circum- 
stances induced withdrawal from the Union. Like 
peril and uncertainty are before them. No matter 
what the position of Texas may be, she cannot but 
feel that ties of no common nature bind her to those 
States. But, however close those ties may be in 
feeling, there are requirements due the national pride 
and dignity of a people who have just resumed their 
nationality which do not sanction the course pursued 
in annexing them to a new government without their 
knowledge or consent." 

On March 14, the convention adopted an ordinance 



SECESSION - 357 

requiring the State officers to take the oath of alle- 
giance to the Confederacy. Houston and E. W. 
Cave, the Secretary of State, declined to obey the 
order. When the day came to take the oath the 
presiding officer of the convention called three times, 
"Sam Houston, Sam Houston, Sam Houston," but 
the governor remained in his office in the basement 
of the Capitol, whittling his pine stick, and hearing 
the echo of the noise and tumult in the hall above 
his head. Houston and Cave were declared deposed 
from their offices, and Edward Clark, the lieutenant 
governor, was installed as governor. Houston pro- 
tested, and appealed to the legislature, which assem- 
bled on the 18th, but it confirmed the action of the 
convention. Houston issued an address to the peo- 
ple protesting against the illegal acts and usurpations 
of the convention. But he declared that he should 
make no attempt to retain his position by force. He 
said : — 

"I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and 
bloodshed upon her. To avert this calamity I shall 
make no endeavor to maintain my authority as chief 
executive of the State, except by the peaceful exer- 
cise of my functions. When I can no longer do this 
I shall calmly withdraw from the scene, leaving the 
government in the hands of those who have usurped 
its authority, but still claiming that I am its chief 
executive. I protest in the name of the people of 
Texas against all the acts and doings of this conven- 
tion, and declare them null and void. I solemnly 



358 . SAM HOUSTON 

protest against the act of its members, who are bound 
by no oath themselves, in declaring my office vacant 
because I refuse to appear before it and take the oath 
prescribed." 

He still continued to go to his office, but on the 
morning of March 21 he found that Governor Clark 
had installed himself in the room before him. A 
hostile newspaper gives this account of their inter- 
view : — 

"By and by the deposed Governor came hobbling 
into the office, old Sam's San Jacinto wound having 
broken out afresh, as it always does on occasions of 
political trial. Perceiving Governor Clark occupy- 
ing his chair, old Sam addressed him : — 

"'Well, Governor Clark,' giving great emphasis 
to the title, 'you are an early riser.' 

"'Yes, General ^^ with a great stress upon the 
military title of his predecessor, 'I am illustrating the 
old maxim, the early bird catches the worm. ' 

" 'Well, Governor Clark, I hope you will find it 
an easier seat than I have found it. ' 

" 'I '11 endeavor to make it so. General, by con- 
forming to the clearly expressed wish of the people 
of Texas. ' 

" The General, having brought a large lunch basket 
with him, proceeded to put in numerous little arti- 
cles of private property, and to stow them away very 
carefully. Catching his foot in a hole in the carpet, 
and stumbling, the General suggested to Governor 
Clark that the new Government ought to afford a new 



SECESSION 359 

carpet for the Governor's office, whereupon the Gov- 
ernor remarked that the Executive of Texas could 
get along very well without a carpet. 

"Having gathered up his duds, old Sam made a lit- 
tle farewell speech very much in the style of Cardinal 
Wolsey, declaring his conviction that, as in the past, 
Texas would call him from his retirement, and he 
hoped Governor Clark would be able to give as good 
an account of his stewardship as he could now ren- 
der. Halting at the door the General made a pro- 
found bow, and with an air of elaborate dignity said, 
'Good-day, Governor C-1-a-r-k.' 'Good-day, Gen- 
eral Houston,' was the Governor's response." 

Houston left Austin, and returned to his residence 
in Huntsville, a small town in Walker County. An 
enemy wrote, "Houston has sunk out of sight, leav- 
ing but a ripple on the surface." 

Houston's action in reference to the secession of 
Texas has been much criticised, and he has been 
accused of inconsistency and pusillanimity. He cer- 
tainly did not take the course of Francis P. Blair in 
Missouri in organizing an armed resistance to seces- 
sion. He might possibly have done so, if he had 
been supported by General Twiggs, as Blair was by 
General Lyon. But it is probable that he would only 
have hoped to strengthen and give force to the Union 
sentiment, and overawe the secession element without 
bloodshed. It is within the bounds of possibility 
that, if Twiggs had taken a different course, the 
Union feeling might have prevailed. It is doubtful 



360 SAM HOUSTON 

if the majority of the people of Texas were in favor of 
secession at the time the vote was taken. But events 
shaped themselves so that there could not have been 
a resistance without a bloody civil war within the 
State. Houston loved his people too much to precip- 
itate this. It is to be remembered, also, that Hous- 
ton was a Southern man, and, while he ardently loved 
the Union, and regretted secession as a matter of 
policy, his feelings were with his section. When the 
die was cast, his hopes and sympathies were for the 
success of the South. There is no reason to doubt 
his sincerity in saying that he yielded up his office 
rather than subject the people to the horrors of a civil 
war, and that he was with his State, right or wrong. 
His courage and firmness were abundantly proved in 
his resistance to the tumults and violence of secession, 
and the very serious dangers which accompanied 
them. The excitement ran tremendously high, and 
it was by no means impossible that some "Texan 
Brutus " might have taken Senator Iverson's advice 
to assassinate him. Events were too strong for Hous- 
ton. The position of Texas made her naturally a 
member of the Southern Confederacy. The Union 
sentiment was rather inert and indefinite, instead of 
active and passionate like that of the secessionists. 
It could not have triumphed without a civil war, and 
it is doubtful if a majority of the Unionists were 
ready for that, even if Houston had been willing to 
lead them. The people were mainly Southern, and 
when the Federal Government proclaimed its purpose 



SECESSION 361 

of coercing the seceded States, all but a few, except- 
ing the German colonists, threw themselves heart and 
soul into the Confederate cause. It is possible that 
Houston hoped for a brief time that Texas, having 
seceded, would resume her independent sovereignty, 
and he was suspected of working for that end. But 
he must have soon seen that it was impossible, and 
have recognized that the fortunes of Texas were 
bound up with those of the rest of the slave-holding 
States. He realized the probabilities of the failure 
of the Confederacy, but he would not join in over- 
throwing the fortunes of his section, and he did not 
feel that allegiance to the Union which would com- 
pel him to fight against his people. His course was 
honorable and consistent from his point of view, and 
it was that almost universally taken by the original 
Union men of the South. He refused the offer of a 
major-general's commission from President Lincoln, 
and had no hope or ambition that was not identified 
with the welfare of the people of Texas. His eldest 
son entered the Confederate service, and he fitted 
him out with his arms and equipments. There is a 
good-humored jest attributed to him to the effect that 
he told his son that the most appropriate place for his 
secession rosette would be on the inside of the tail of 
his coat, but he subsequently said that if he had more 
sons old enough for the service they should go. He 
was for the Union, if it could be preserved by peaceful 
means, but for the South when the issue was made of 
resistance or submission to Federal coercion. 



362 SA3I HOUSTON 

Daring his administration as governor there was 
no opportunity for attention to the internal affairs of 
the State. Everything was swept into the vortex of 
political strife and excitement. The only measure he 
could accomplish was the organization of a ranging 
force for the protection of the frontier, which fell to 
pieces during the secession excitement, leaving the 
people defenseless after the United States troops sur- 
rendered. 



CHAPTER XVI 

LAST YEARS — DEATH 

Houston had not taken the means to secure for 
himself a life of luxurious ease after his retirement 
from public life. He had had ample opportunities to 
acquire wealth by obtaining tracts of rich lands and 
advantageous holdings in the newly founded towns, by 
which many of his associates laid the foundations of 
large fortunes, but he did not take them, nor did he 
engage in any of the schemes for the profitable devel- 
opment of the resources of a new country. He was 
indifferent to money, and during his early career in 
Texas lived in a careless frontier fashion, which often 
left him in straits for the means to purchase the com- 
mon necessaries of life. After his second marriage 
he lived in a more orderly manner, but without much 
more attention to the accrmiulation of property. He 
was always generous after the early Texas fashion, 
and his horses and belongings were at the service of 
any one in want or for the needs of his neighbors. 
The salary of his public office was always expended 
liberally, and he had no professional income, his 
practice as a lawyer having only been in the early 
days, when he addressed frontier juries without much 
reference to statute and precedent, and took his pay 



364 SAM HOUSTON 

in whatever came handy. He had been almost en- 
tirely in public life, and lived by it. In his old age 
he had only a small piece of property near the town 
of Huntsville, a house consisting of a double log- 
cabin, and a limited amount of land around it. To 
this he retired, after his deposition as governor, 
without an occupation or an opportunity to earn an 
income. His later years were undoubtedly passed in 
poverty, particularly after the commercial and indus- 
trial isolation of the Confederacy set in, with its 
necessary privations upon the whole of the commu- 
nity, but the story that he and his family suffered for 
the want of the common necessaries of life is exag- 
gerated. They lived like their neighbors, and in the 
productive soil and genial climate there was no want 
of the means of living, whatever there may have been 
of the luxuries. 

Shortly after his retirement, Houston passed 
through the city of Houston on his way to Sour 
Lake, a bathing place of medicinal waters in Jeffer- 
son County, which he visited for the benefit of his 
health. It was the time of the hottest ebullition of 
the secession excitement. War had been declared, 
and the community was in all the furor of military 
enthusiasm. No one doubted of the success of the 
South, and any one who should venture to say that it 
was not sure of victory was regarded as a traitor and 
a public enemy. Houston was asked to speak by his 
friends, and there were violent threats from the se- 
cession element that he should not be allowed to do 



LAST YEARS 365 

so. He treated tlie threats witli his usual contempt, 
and delivered his speech in the evening from the steps 
of the Academy. His friends armed themselves to 
protect him, and surrounded the platform. There was 
a secession torchlight procession, which paraded up 
and down the street while he was speaking, and a 
great deal of noise and disturbance. What was rare 
with Houston, he sometimes lost the thread of his dis- 
course, and turned to a friend near him to ask him 
to supply it. But he spoke with his usual force and 
courage. He told his excited and confident audience 
that the result of the war would be against them. 
The South would win victories at first, but the North 
had the whole of Europe to draw upon to supply its 
armies, and would work with the relentless force of a 
machine, while the South was isolated, and had no 
resources with which to make good its inevitable ex- 
haustion. 

There was an uneasiness about what Houston might 
do, and a dread of his power and influence upon the 
people among the secession element. Although he 
had peacefully retired from the governorship, he was 
suspected of plotting either with the Federal Govern- 
ment or to have Texas set up for herself as an inde- 
pendent Republic. On April 4, 1861, Governor 
Clark wrote to President Davis, urging the Confed- 
erate Government to take more effective measures for 
the protection of the frontier. He said: "It is more 
than probable that an effort will soon be made by the 
submission party of this State, with General Hous- 



366 SAM HOUSTON 

ton at its head, to convert Texas into an independent 
Republic, and one of the most effective arguments 
will be that the Confederate States has supplied the 
place of the 2500 United States troops formerly 
upon our frontier with only a single regiment; " 
and there are other references in the correspondence 
of the time to such a design on the part of Houston. 
But his enemies took counsel of their fears. There 
is no evidence that Houston entertained any such 
purpose, and he certainly took no active steps to 
bring it about. On the contrary as the war kindled, 
his sympathies were strongly for the South, and he 
urged the most strenuous measures of resistance. In 
a speech at a festival of Baylor University at Inde- 
pendence, May 10, 1861, Houston declared his alle- 
giance to his section, and his readiness to enter the 
ranks, if necessary, to repel invasion. He said : — 

"Now that not only coercion, but a vindictive war 
is to be inaugurated, I stand ready to redeem my 
pledge to the people. Whether the Convention was 
right or wrong is not now the question. Whether I 
was treated justly or unjustly is not now to be con- 
sidered. I put all that under my feet and there it 
shall stay. Let those who stood by me do the same, 
and let us all show at a time when perils environ 
our beloved land we know how to be patriots and 
Texans. Let us have no past but the glorious past, 
whose glorious deeds shall stimulate us to resistance 
to tyranny and wrong, and, burying in the grave of 
oblivion all our past differences, let us go forward 



LAST YEARS 367 

determined not to yield until our independence is 
acknowledged; or, if not acknowledged, wrung from 
our enemies by the force of our valor. It is no time 
to turn back now; the people bave put tbeir bands to 
tbe plougb; tbey must go forward; to recede would 
be worse than ignominy. Better meet war in its 
deadliest shape than cringe before an enemy whose 
wrath we have invoked. I make no pretension as to 
myself. I have yielded up office, and sought retire- 
ment to preserve peace among our people. My ser- 
vices are perhaps not important enough to be desired. 
Others are perhaps more competent to lead the people 
through the revolution. I have been with them 
through the fiery ordeal once, and I know that with 
prudence and discipline their courage will surmount 
all obstacles. Should the tocsin of war, calling the 
people to resist the invader, reach the retirement to 
which I shall go, I will heed neither the denunciations 
of my enemies or the clamor of my own friends, but 
will join the ranks of my countrymen to defend Texas 
once again." 

He did not forget his humorous sarcasm upon his 
opponents, who had been very vigorous in bringing 
on the war, but less decided in taking part in it. 
Mr. North gives an account of a scene at a review in 
Galveston in which he scored them in his rough and 
popular fashion: — 

"During the first year of the war. Colonel Moore 
had organized a splendid regiment of 1100 young 
men, volunteers mostly from Galveston, finely 



368 SAM HOUSTON 

equipped, of which Sam Houston, Jr. , was a member. 
The}^ were on dress parade daily, and presented a 
charming appearance. It was as fine a regiment as 
went to the war from any section of the country. 
The Colonel was justly proud of them, and fond of 
exhibiting their superior drill and 'dress' to the 
public, and particularly to old military men. They 
fought their first battle at Pittsburgh Landing, or 
Shiloh, as the Confederates called it. But before 
leaving the island for the seat of war, the Colonel 
invited General Houston to review his regiment. 
Now Judge Campbell, of one of the judicial districts 
of Texas, and Williamson S. Oldham, member of 
the Confederate Congress, had been the old General's 
bitter enemies during the canvass on secession. 
They had followed him night and day throughout the 
State. On the day set for him to review and put the 
regiment through some military evolutions, the Gen- 
eral was on hand at the hour and place. This called 
out a large concourse of people to witness the per- 
formance ; the day was sunny and beautiful ; the hour 
ten in the forenoon; the regiment was in complete 
uniform and perfectly armed; their arms glistened in 
the sunbeams as they stood in perfect 'dress ' and at 
'present arms,' when the 'hero of San Jacinto,' sup- 
ported by their Colonel, stood in front. He was the 
hero of San Jacinto sure enough, for there he stood 
in the same military suit he had worn in 1836 at the 
battle of San Jacinto, when Santa Anna was cap- 
tured, his pants tucked in the top of military boots; 



LAST YEARS 369 

suspended at his side was the same old sword, and on 
his head was a weather-beaten, light-colored, broad- 
brimmed planter hat, the left side buttoned up to 
the crown. There he stood, the very impersonation 
of the olden times. It was a sight for sensation. 
All eyes were now upon him, some of them dimmed 
with tears, and many a throat of soldier and spectator 
was choking down feeling unutterable, — the writer 
among the rest. Not a word had yet passed the Gen- 
eral's lips, but now the Colonel passed him his own 
sword and told him to proceed. Then came : — 

"'Shoulder arms. 

"'Right about face.' The regiment now facing to 
the rear, the General cried out in stentorian tones of 
sarcasm: 'Do you see anything of Judge Campbell 
or Williamson S. Oldham here? ' 

"'No,' was the emphatic reply. 

"'Well,' said the General, 'they are not found at 
the front nor even at the rear. 

"'Right about, front face. 

"'Eyes right. Do you see anything of Judge 
Campbell's son here? ' 

"'No, he has gone to Paris to school,' responded 
the regiment. 

'"Eyes left. Do you see anything of young Sam 
Houston here ? ' 

"'Yes,' was the thrilling response. 

"'Eyes front. Do you see anything of old Sam 
Houston here? ' By this time the climax of excite- 
ment was reached, and the regiment and citizens re- 



370 SAM HOUSTON 

sponded in thunder tones, 'Yes ! ' and then united in a 
triple round of three times three and a tiger for the 
old hero. Thereupon he returned the Colonel his 
sword with the remark: 'There, Colonel, that will 
do, I leave you to manage the rest of the manoeu- 
vring,' and retired from dress parade." 

But Houston's health soon began to fail. His 
splendid constitution, which had withstood his 
wounds, his hardships, and his excesses without giving 
way, began to feel the effects of old age. His old 
wounds renewed their pains, and he was obliged to 
walk with a crutch and a cane. He was attacked by 
painful and wasting illnesses, and at one time in the 
fall of 1862 he was very near death. His friend, 
Mr. Hamilton Stewart, gives the following account 
of the occasion : — 

"While he was living at Cedar Point the word 
came down that he was dying. I took the next boat 
up, and found Mr. Houston was very sick with the 
fever. I remained for some days, doing all I could. 
The house stood in a grove of cedars. The time was 
the fall of the year. The wind blew and the rain 
fell. The surroundings were about as desolate as 
could be. A young doctor, who hadn't had much 
experience, was attending Mr. Houston. One night 
he came up and called me out. He said he thought 
the end was near, and asked me to tell Mr. Houston. 
I didn't much like the duty. After thinking it over 
I went into the room where Mr. Houston was lying, 
and told him what the doctor said. He did n't make 



LAST YEARS 371 

any reply for a few minutes. Then lie turned to me, 
and said, ' Call tlie family. ' I went out and aroused 
Mrs. Houston and the children. After they came in 
Mr. Houston said, 'Call the servants.' All gathered 
about the bedside. Mr. Houston proceeded calmly 
and slowly to give detailed instructions about what 
he wanted done. He had some advice for each one 
present. When he had finished he called for the 
Bible and had a psalm read. Turning to two daugh- 
ters he asked them to sing a hymn, which he desig- 
nated. The girls began, but broke down sobbing. 
Mr. Houston took it up and finished it. After that 
he sent them all to bed again. He was very low, 
but he did not die at that time. When he became 
better I returned to Galveston. As I bade him good- 
by he sent an expression of his kindest feeling to all 
of his friends. Then, warming up, he said, 'Tell 
my enemies I am not dead yet.' " 

His mind, afflicted with the calamities of the coun- 
try, and doubtful of the success of his section, re- 
acted upon his bodily strength. He became melan- 
choly and despondent, and in a measure lost his hold 
upon life. To his old friends he spoke doubtfully of 
the success of the South, and looked beyond to the 
results which would follow the restoration of the 
Union. To one of them he said that the immense 
fortunes which were being made in the North during 
the war would seek an outlet as soon as it was over, 
and that within less than fifteen years the cars would 
be running through Texas to the City of Mexico and 



372 SAM HOUSTON 

to San Francisco. At times tlie old spirit flashed 
out. The military officers of the Confederacy had 
established a very stringent system of martial law in 
Texas, by which all the male inhabitants over six- 
teen years of age were required to register them- 
selves, and obtain passes from the provost-marshals. 
Houston paid no attention to the order, and at one 
time was halted by a superserviceable official, who de- 
manded his pass. The old man waved him aside with 
a frowning countenance, and replied, " San Jacinto is 
my pass through Texas." He wrote a letter of ear- 
nest protest against the proclamation of martial law, 
issued May 31, 1861, by General P. D. Hebert, 
commanding the Department of Texas, to Governor 
Lubbock. He charged General Hebert with the 
abrogation of the principles of individual liberty, 
and appealed to the governor to maintain the rights 
of the people. The decrees of banishment against 
Union citizens, and the system of oppression and in- 
timidation, were carried out in the most harsh and 
vindictive manner, and Houston revolted against the 
needless tyranny. His letter to the governor was 
not published until six months after it was written, 
and made a profound impression upon the people, 
discouraged by the reverses to the Confederate ar- 
mies, and indignant at the military rule of the Con- 
federate officers in Texas. But Houston was still 
firm for resistance to the North. After the recapture 
of Galveston by the Texan forces on January 1, 
1863, he wrote a congratulatory letter to General 



LAST YEARS 373 

Magrucler, in wliicli lie thanked him for "driving 
from the soil a ruthless enemy," and said that he 
would have paid him his respects personally, but that 
he had just risen from a sick-bed. The Federal sol- 
diers, captured at Galveston, were treated with great 
harshness, and confined in prison like common crimi- 
nals. Houston was indignant at this unmanly con- 
duct on the part of the Confederate authorities, and 
applied in person to the superintendent of the peni- 
tentiary to remove the officers and men from convict 
cells to quarters more appropriate to prisoners of 
war. The superintendent did so, and took them into 
his own house, where they remained until they were 
exchanged. 

Houston's last speech was delivered in the city of 
Houston March 18, 1863. The animosity and bit- 
terness with which he had been regarded for his 
course in opposing secession had died away, and a 
feeling of respect for his venerable age, and a con- 
sciousness that he had been right in his prediction of 
the evils which would follow the attempt to dissolve 
the Union, added to the consideration due to his his- 
tory and achievements. He was listened to with re- 
spectful attention, and spoke with much pathos of his 
age and the approaching end of his life. He said : — 

"Ladies and Fellow - Citizens : With feelings of 
pleasure and friendly greeting I once again stand be- 
fore this, an assemblage of my countrymen. As I 
behold this large assemblage, who, from their homes 
and daily toil, have come once again to greet the 



374 SAM HOUSTON 

man who has so often known their kindness and 
affection, I can feel that even yet I hold a place in 
their high regard. This manifestation is the highest 
compliment that can be paid to the citizen and pa- 
triot. As you have gathered here to listen to the 
sentiments of my heart, knowing that the days draw 
nigh nnto me when all thoughts of ambition and 
worldly pride give place to the earnestness of age, I 
know you will bear with me, while with calmness and 
without the fervor and eloquence of youth, I express 
those sentiments which seem natural to my mind in 
the view of the condition of the country. I have been 
buffeted by the waves as I have been borne along- 
time 's ocean, until, shattered and worn, I approach 
the narrow isthmus which divides it from the sea of 
eternity beyond. Ere I step forward to journey 
through the pilgrimage of death, I would say that 
all my thoughts and all my hopes are with my coun- 
try. If one impulse arises above another, it is for 
the happiness of these people ; the welfare and glory 
of Texas will be the uppermost thought while the 
spark of life lingers in this breast." 

He spoke hopefully of the probabilities of the suc- 
cess of the Confederacy. He pointed out the favora- 
ble chances of the interference of France in behalf of 
the South in the support of its Mexican scheme; 
spoke of the dissatisfaction caused by the depreciation 
of the greenback currency in the North, of the dan- 
gers of the drafts to the Federal authority, and the 
weariness of the Northwest with the war. His voice 



LAST YEARS 375 

was still for prolonged and desperate resistance. He 
said : — 

"Thus, although I do not look with confidence to 
these results, nor do I advance them as more than 
mere probabilities, they certainly indicate that there 
is discord and discontent at the North, and these 
always will embarrass its cause, and endanger its suc- 
cess. Yet I do not trust to these things, nor would 
I have you do so. Let us go forward, nerved to 
nobler deeds than we have yet given to history. Let 
us bid defiance to all the hosts that our enemies can 
bring against us. Can Lincoln expect to subjugate 
a people thus resolved? No! From every conflict 
they will arise the stronger and more resolute. Are 
we deprived of the luxuries which our enemies pos- 
sess? We have learned how little necessary they 
are, and it is no privation to do without them." 

But his darker forebodings of the fate of the Con- 
federacy were destined to be fulfilled. On the 4th 
of July, 1863, Yicksburg fell, and Houston must 
have realized that it was the death stroke to the cause 
of the South. He was then on his death-bed. His 
bodily forces had gradually failed him, without any 
sharp attack of illness. He spent much of his time 
in reading the Bible, and in prayers for his country 
and his family. He received the ministrations of a 
Presbyterian clergyman, with whom he had previously 
been in antagonism, but with whom he was reconciled 
by the touch of death. All his family were about 
him, except his eldest son, Lieutenant Sam Houston, 



37-6 SAM HOUSTON 

who was wounded and a prisoner in the hands of the 
enemy. "The day before his death," his daughter 
writes, "he fell into a comatose state from which we 
could not rouse him; but during the next forenoon 
we heard his voice in a tone of entreaty, and, listen- 
ing to the feeble sound, we caught the words 'Texas! 
Texas ! ' Soon afterward my mother was sitting by 
his bedside with his hand in hers, and his lips moved 
once again. 'Margaret,' he said, and the voice we 
loved was silent forever. As the sun sank below the 
horizon his spirit left this earth for a better land." 
He died July 26, 1863, aged seventy years, four 
months, and twenty-four days. He left a widow and 
eight children, some of whom have since distinguished 
themselves in the political and professional life of 
Texas. His will was peculiar and characteristic. 
After bequeathing his property to his family, he said 
in regard to the education of his sons : - — 

"My will is that my sons should receive solid and 
useful education and that no portion of their time be 
devoted to the study of abstract science. I greatly 
desire that they may possess a thorough knowledge of 
the English language, with a good knowledge of the 
Latin language. I request that they be instructed 
in the Holy Scriptures, and next to these that they 
be rendered thoroughly in a knowledge of geography 
and history. I wish my sons to be taught an entire 
contempt for novels and light reading, as well as for 
the morals and manners with whom they may be 
associated or instructed." 



DEATH 377 

He bequeathed liis sword to Ms eldest son in these 
terms : — 

"To my eldest son, Sam Houston, I bequeath my 
sword, worn in the battle of San Jacinto, to be drawn 
only in defense of the constitution, the laws and lib- 
erties of his country. If any attempt be made to 
assail one of these I wish it to be used in vindica- 
tion." 

The will was dated the 2d of April, 1863. His 
remains were buried at Huntsville, with a plain slab, 
bearing the inscription, "General Sam Houston. 
Born March 2, 1793. Died July 26, 1863; " and he 
sleeps beneath the tangled vines and grass, after a 
life of tumult and vicissitude such as falls to the lot 
of few mortals. At the winter session following his 
death the legislature adopted resolutions expressing 
regret at the extinction of so great a light in the 
dark hours of the nation's existence, and paying tri- 
bute to his unblemished patriotism and untiring re- 
gard for the people of Texas. It afterward appro- 
priated 11700 to Mrs. Houston to pay the salary for 
his unfinished term as governor. The mourning of 
the people of Texas was deep and sincere for one 
who, with all his faults and all the antagonisms he 
had aroused, was regarded as the national hero, and 
detraction was silent in the sense of loss, and the 
gratitude and reverence for one who embodied the 
popular pride and typified a heroic history. 



CHAPTER XVII 

CHAKACTEKISTICS 

Houston, althougli with such marked and peculiar 
individual characteristics, was essentially the product 
of his time and circumstance. He grew out of that 
condition in which the generation of the descendants 
of the original settlers of the country were brought 
into contact with the forces of nature and the savage 
inhabitants in a way to influence their native char- 
acter as well as their lives. They were born into the 
pioneer period, instead of coming to it in mature life, 
and they had not shared the original education and 
training of their ancestors. It was a state of barba- 
rism in its outward forms, and they were more essen- 
tially a part of it than those who had preceded them. 
Their education was limited and meagre, and their 
training and governing influences were in the life of 
the wilderness, the primeval forest, which enveloped 
them with its perils and hardships, its temptings to 
adventure, and the labors necessary to carve out a 
home in it. This produced a hardy and indomitable 
spirit, which found its relief in the enthusiasm of 
perilous adventure and in the pursuit of game, and 
a vigor and energy of the bodily powers which found 
their keenest zest in dangerous sports and exhausting 



CHARACTERISTICS 379 

trials of strength. It was a race of vikings, drawn 
by passion and exuberant energy to the life of the 
forest and the adventures of the wilderness, as their 
prototypes had been to those of the sea. They re- 
tained the restraints of their English descent, and 
their instinct was to found a settled commui^y with 
all the germs of civilization, but in their character- 
istic types they were possessed by an overmastering 
impulse for adventure, and the hand-to-hand struggle 
with unsubdued nature. They assimilated to a cer- 
tain degree the ways and customs of the aboriginal 
inhabitants with whom they came in contact, with 
whom they fought, and in the midst of whom they 
lived. They had the migratory instinct and the fond- 
ness for wild life of the Indians, and, if they were 
governed by the higher traditions and motives of civi- 
lization, their lives and natures were also tinctured 
with savage passions and impulses. Sometimes the 
resemblance and influence were developed in a re- 
markable degree. 

The kinship of Houston with the Indian character 
has already been noticed. It led him, when a youth, 
to desert the restraints of even a frontier civilization, 
and take up his home among them, and he manifested 
the characteristic qualities and something of the man- 
ners of an Indian chief throughout his whole life. 
His powers of popular oratory, his perception of char- 
acter and his influence over men, his courage and 
bold conceptions of policy, his generosity and indif- 
ference to wealth, were the characteristics of a barba- 



380 SAM HOUSTON 

rian leader. Then Ms undisguised personal vanity, 
his tricky cunning, and his passionate and reckless 
temperament were alike the attributes of the Indian. 
He might have figured as one of the leaders of the 
Greeks at the siege of Troy, with their practical wis- 
dom and their childish simplicity. It has been said 
that if he had been bound naked upon the back of a 
wild horse like Mazeppa the first tribe he came to 
would have elected him a prince; but it would have 
been a wandering tribe, and not a civilized and set- 
tled people. He owed his leadership in Texas to the 
conditions of tumult and adventure into which the 
people were thrown, since their lives represented in 
many ways the features of primitive barbarism. This 
is not to say that they were barbarians by nature, 
but in their strife with the wilderness and their 
hostile contact with the Indians and the Mexicans 
they were subject to all the conditions of primitive 
and incessant warfare which colored their lives and 
governed their actions. Houston's later life mani-^ 
fested distinct traces of his primitive habits and 
training, and revealed his limitations, in spite of the 
practical sagacity and broad wisdom which frequently 
characterized his statesmanship. He was out of 
place in the Senate, in contact with minds trained 
to think within the lines of civilized education, and 
to argue logically upon legal premises. He never 
adapted himself to its atmosphere or acquired its 
forms of oratory. He was like an Indian chief in 
a modern legislature. His strength was when he 



CHARACTERISTICS 381 

could appeal to the thoughts and feelings of the com- 
mon people, sway them by his vigorous and somewhat 
histrionic eloquence, tickle them by his familiar hu- 
mor, and influence them by his shrewd common sense. 
It is doubtful if there has been in modern times 
any such orator for a crowd, except, perhaps, Daniel 
O'Connell. Certainly there has been none in Ameri- 
can history who could so sway a frontier audience. 
It used to be said that there were but two things that 
could draw out the people of Texas, — a circus and 
Sam Houston. Time and again he awed their turbu- 
lent spirits when they were in a state of the highest 
excitement and passion, and when any other man 
would have been howled down or subjected to bodily 
violence. Time and again he converted popular as- 
semblages to his own way of thinking, in spite of the 
most violent prejudice, and his political power was 
based on his popular eloquence. Yet he was far 
from being a demagogue. He did not flatter the 
passions and prejudices of the multitude, or govern 
his opinions by theirs. He withstood them with 
manly courage when there was occasion, and, if he 
could not convert them, vindicated himself. His 
power over the people was due to his genuine sympa- 
thy with them, as well as to his personal and popular 
gifts. He felt as they did, and his desires and am- 
bitions were for the welfare and prosperity of those 
who tilled the soil, and built homes in the wilderness 
with their own hands. He had no liking for, or 
affiliation with, that class who were endeavoring to 



382 SAM HOUSTON 

build up a slave oligarchy at the South, and regarded 
them as the enemies of the section as well as of the 
nation. The most of his political quarrels were from 
the rivalries of ambitious schemers, eager for con- 
quest or personal power at the expense of the people. 
His own personal ambition was predominant, but it 
was based upon the welfare of the people, and he 
sacrificed it rather than submit to their erroneous 
judgment, and lead them in the way to ruin. In the 
affection and confidence of the people he had no com- 
petitor, and when they were swept away from him 
by the passion and excitement of the outbreak of the 
civil war, there was no one who could take his place 
as a popular leader. 

As a soldier Houston's career was too brief and 
limited to entitle him to rank among distinguished 
military leaders. In his first campaign he was 
merely the youthful subordinate who had only the 
opportunity to display his courage and dash, and 
acquire a reputation for bravery. In the second 
there were no conditions which involved accomplished 
military strategy, or tactical skill in battle. The 
only choice was either to meet the enemy in a mass 
at the threshold of the country, or allow him to pene- 
trate within it, at the cost of the destruction of the 
settlements along the line of march, in the expectation 
that he would either divide his forces, Or that they 
would become weakened by being drawn away from 
their base, so that they could be attacked with an 
assurance of victory. The decision simply required 



CHARACTERISTICS 383 

the exercise of practical judgment and common sense. 
There may be doubt whether the fighting quality of 
the Texans would not have enabled them to defeat 
Santa Anna's army with even such odds as there 
were at the beginning, but the chances were uncertain, 
and a defeat would have meant the destruction of the 
army and the subjugation of the country. It was a 
risk which the circumstances would not justify, and 
Houston was governed by wisdom as well as prudence 
in the course which he took. The battle of San 
Jacinto required no tactical manoeuvring. The only 
thing to be done was to fall on the enemy with all the 
force of a sudden and crushing attack, and to trust to 
the elan and vigor of the Texan soldiers to overwhelm 
the feebler physique and fainter spirit of the Mexi- 
can. It simply required a leader to head the assault, 
keep his men in line, and restrain their fire until the 
deadly moment. This Houston did, and it may be 
said that the most accomplished soldier could have 
done no more. What Houston might have done with 
a larger army and a more extensive field of opera- 
tions can only be a matter of conjecture. He simply 
accomplished what the circumstances permitted, and 
displayed his natural capacity and common sense, but 
it was not enough to entitle him to a place in the 
ranks of trained and skillful military leaders. His 
enemies affected to doubt his physical courage, and 
ascribed his retreat to personal timidity. But he was 
wounded in leading assaults in both the battles in 
which he was engaged, and that may be taken to set- 



384 SAM HOUSTON 

tie the question of his courage. It was still farther 
demonstrated throughout his life by his firmness in 
facing turbulent mobs, and in withstanding the 
threats of open and secret violence which so often 
accompanied his political action. It is true that he 
did not have that fighting disposition and that fondness 
for personal combat which characterized the fiery 
spirits of some of his associates and rivals. He was 
not a fire-eater or a desperado. He had too much 
common sense to put his life at the call of any indi- 
vidual who desired to provoke him to a duel, and 
would not give his enemies the chance of overthrow- 
ing his policy by killing him. No one but his antag- 
onists blamed him for this wise course, even if there 
had been no moral principle involved, and it is 
enough to say that he could not have held his place 
in such a state of society as that in which he lived 
from his youth up without having given abundant 
proof of his physical courage. 

As a statesman he showed broad wisdom and prac- 
tical sagacity. His action in the creation of a work- 
ing government for the Republic of Texas, without 
means, and in a turbulent and scattered society, amid 
the opposition and intrigue of ambitious rivals, how- 
ever much he may have been aided by some of his 
associates and by the support of the more intelligent 
element among the people, was a proof of his great 
administrative capacity, and the chief credit is due to 
his wisdom and influence. His course in restraining 
the eager adventurers who came to the country for 



CHARACTERISTICS 385 

glory and conquest, and the restless spirits among the 
settlers from undertaking foolish and reckless at- 
tempts at the invasion of Mexico, showed his sound 
and practical jvidgment, and saved the country from 
great calamities, if not from destruction. His treat- 
ment of Santa Anna manifested his wisdom, as well 
as his magnanimity, and his dealings with the Indians 
were those of enlightened statesmanship as well as 
philanthropy. His prudent and practical economy 
rescued the Republic from financial collapse, and 
his negotiations with foreign nations were shrewd 
and skillful in effect, while dignified in manner and 
elevated in purpose. They did much to preserve 
Texas from being attacked by Mexico, and undoubt- 
edly contributed greatly to the annexation of Texas 
to the United States at the time it was accomplished. 
Considering the enormous difficulties of creating a 
government out of such materials, the troubles result- 
ing from the turbulence and lawlessness of the adven- 
turers and the restless and desperate opposition of 
rivals, the dangers of invasion from Mexico, the con- 
stant menace and trouble from the Indians, and the 
lack of means and credit, it must be admitted that 
Houston accomplished a task in the highest degree 
creditable to his wisdom and sagacity, and which it 
is, perhaps, not too much to say that no other could 
have done so well. 

In the field of national statesmanship Houston 
exhibited equal qualities of broad wisdom, firmness, 
and courage. He perceived the dangers which threat- 



386 SAM HOUSTON 

ened his section from the aggressive designs of the 
leading slave-holders, and had the courage to oppose 
them at the cost of his political fortunes. To him 
and to Benton is due the credit of understanding and 
advocating the true interests of the South, as weU as 
of the nation, and their position was such that it vin- 
dicated their courage as well as their statesmanship. 
It was easy for Northern statesmen, representing the 
predominant sentiment of their constituents, to op- 
pose schemes for the territorial extension of slavery, 
but it was quite another matter for representatives of 
the South to oppose the apparent interests of their 
section, and all the force of active political intrigue 
working upon popular feeling. Houston's speeches 
on the Kansas-Nebraska bill show a prophetic pre- 
science, as well as a commanding eloquence, and 
vindicate his right to a high rank among American 
statesmen. Almost alone he advocated wisdom and 
justice in the treatment of the Indians, and the plans 
which he urged for the improvement of their condi- 
tion would have saved the nation from the just re- 
proach of injustice and neglect towards a feeble and 
helpless race. Some of his schemes were less wise, 
such as the attempt to induce the United States to 
assume a protectorate over Mexico, and the delusive 
vision of the presidency led him for a time into affili- 
ation with Know-Nothingism ; but as a whole his 
action in the legislative councils of the nation was 
creditable to his wisdom and sagacity. At the out- 
break of the civil war Houston manifested his enlight- 



CHARACTERISTICS 387 

ened devotion to the Union, and his appreciation of 
the perils and calamities in which secession would 
involve the South. He resisted the folly and mad- 
ness so long as it could be done by peaceful means, 
but events were too strong for him. The condition 
and position of Texas were such that he could not 
have taken the action that was followed by some of 
the Union leaders in the Border States, even if he 
wished to do so; and when the rest of the South 
seceded, Texas was inevitably taken with it. Hous- 
ton's sympathies were with his people and with the 
South as a section, and when the war began he was 
for resistance. His action was by no means governed 
by timidity or demagoguery. He showed his per- 
sonal courage by opposing the tide of violent popular 
feeling at imminent risk, and he surrendered his 
office in order to vindicate his judgment. His course 
was entirely patriotic and consistent, considering his 
feelings and circumstances; and the blame which has 
been thrown upon him by Northern advocates of the 
Union for not plunging Texas into a civil war within 
the limits of the State is wholly undeserved. He 
believed in and supported the Union so long as it 
was possible without bloodshed; but he gave up the 
struggle when it involved a civil war among his own 
people. 

As a politician in the ordinary sense of the word 
Houston was extremely skillful. He was a keen and 
accurate judge of personal character, and knew at 
once those who would become rivals, and those whom 



388 SAM HOUSTON 

he could attach to liimseK as supporters. The first 
lie attacked without stint, and overwhelmed with 
opprobrium and abuse, which aroused their fiercest 
indignation. The second he flattered, and attached 
to his fortunes by kindly familiarity and practical 
service. He was always interested in the welfare of 
young men, and ready to give them an opportunity to 
display their talents, if he did not believe them dan- 
gerous to the public welfare, or in the way of his 
personal supremacy. It is not true, however, that he 
was intolerant to opinion when it was not manifested 
in personal opposition, and his friendship for his col- 
league. Senator Rusk, was by no means the result 
of political subservience or lack of independence on 
the part of the latter. Many of his friends differed 
from him without exciting his animosity, and, if de- 
termined and masterful, he was not tyrannical. To 
personal enemies he was, however, vindictive, and 
never spared them any blow which could contribute 
to their discomfiture. His enemies complained of his 
"Indian cunning," and he was not always straight- 
forward in his political action. He was fond of 
tricks and surprises, which he apparently practiced 
for the love of them, or to excite the admiration of 
the people for his shrewdness, and affected an air of 
mystery which sometimes angered his friends as well 
as his enemies. A specimen of what he termed a 
"ruse," in dealing with a troublesome individual, is 
given by Mr. Ashbell Smith in his " Reminiscences 
of the Texas Republic : " — 



CHARACTERISTICS 389 

" San Antonio was mucli the largest, richest, most 
influential city of Texas of that period. It was re- 
mote from the scene of the Texan government. There 
was no intervening population between it and the 
Mexican frontier. For its protection and that of the 
country a considerable squadron of cavalry was sta- 
tioned in the city. This squadron was indeed the 
only military force of Texas kept mobilized, that was 
ready to take the field. Major Western, who com- 
manded this body of cavalry, had by some acts and 
significant innuendoes intimated that he cared very 
little for the one-horse government in the city of 
Houston. President Houston was apprehensive that 
an order to recall the major or to relieve him might 
be disobeyed. It was announced publicly that a 
minister would be appointed to represent Texas at 
the court of St. James. Colonel William H. Patton 
was going to San Antonio on his own private busi- 
ness. President Houston, in a long and friendly 
conversation with Colonel Patton, at length adverted 
as by accident to the proposed mission to England. 
He spoke of Major Western, lauded his courtly man- 
ners, his polished address, his diplomatic ability; said 
the major reminded him strongly of Mr. Van Buren; 
asked Colonel Patton what he thought of the appoint- 
ment of Major Western to this mission. All this he 
begged Colonel Patton to hold in strict confidence, — 
'nothing was absolutely determined upon,' — 'Colonel 
Patton need not be surprised at anything.' The 
President, waiting until he heard of Colonel Patton 's 



390 SAM HOUSTON 

arrival at San Antonio, sent through the war depart- 
ment orders to Major Western to report in person at 
the seat of government. The major presented him- 
self in Houston, radiant and decorous as Titus at the 
head of the Eoman legions organized for the conquest 
of Jerusalem. Time rolled on. The major became 
visibly impatient despite the gracious accord with 
which President Houston greeted him. At length he 
began to inquire very quietly who was to be appointed 
to England, — he inquired of your speaker, who was 
a member of Houston's staff, — but Ashbell Smith 
'knew nothing of cabinet matters, he was not a mem- 
ber of the Cabinet. ' Finally instructions were being 
made out in the state department and General Pink- 
ney Henderson was making preparations to leave for 
London. The rumor leaked out, — the major 'would 
not believe it.' 'President Houston had better judg- 
ment of men.' 'What did Henderson know of diplo- 
macy? ' The appointment of General Henderson 
became an established fact. The major 'was dis- 
gusted; ' he 'would go back to San Antonio; ' and he 
did, but he found his successor there, well established 
in the command of the cavalry. Eeferring to this 
matter at the time. General Houston said to your 
speaker that he would have no pronunciamentos of 
the Mexican fashion in Texas during his presidency. 
During his second presidency he had to confront and 
ward off the far more perilous danger of the pronun- 
ciamentos which were threatened, and which might 
have proved disastrous, but for his consummate tact 



CHARACTERISTICS 391 

in charming them down. Recurring to the incident 
just related, General Houston at a subsequent time 
provided comfortably for his disappointed old friend, 
the major, by placing him at the head of the Indian 
bureau." 

There are many other anecdotes, perhaps less au- 
thentic, of the manner in which Houston tripped up 
his political adversaries, or led them into skillfully 
laid traps, and the stories of his cunning added to his 
stock of admiration among the people. 

Specimens of Houston's public speeches have been 
given. They show in some degree the defects of his 
education. There is not always a skillful or even a 
familiar choice of words, and the style is that of the 
heavy and somewhat stilted oratory of the time, with- 
out the massive polish which sometimes distinguished 
it, as in the case of Webster and Calhoun. But at 
times it was vivified by the strength of the thought 
and feeling behind it, and rose to the height of a dig- 
nified and forcible eloquence. His style of popular 
oratory has already been sufficiently characterized. 
His private speech was vigorous and incisive, and he 
often characterized his enemies with powerful force 
and humor. His description of Jefferson Davis was 
one of those epigrams which may be accepted as the 
truth of history, "Ambitious as Lucifer, and cold as 
a lizard." Houston had a personal follower by the 

name of S , whom he had obliged with small 

federal and state offices, and who professed great 
devotion to him. During the secession difficulties, 



4^ 



392 SAM HOUSTON 

however, he turned against Houston, and violently 
attacked and abused him. This was mentioned to 

Houston with a condemnation of S 's ingratitude. 

"You mustn't be hard on S ," said Houston. 

"I was always fond of dogs, and S has all the 

virtues of a dog, except his fidelity." 

Houston's most conspicuous weaknesses of temper- 
ament were his personal vanity and his tendency to 
histrionism. The eccentricity and theatrical display 
which characterized his dress have been noticed. It 
was almost childish in its manifest purpose to attract 
attention, and only his magnificent physique could 
have carried off his draping himself in an Indian 
blanket or a Mexican poncho, and the other bizarre 
eccentricities of his attire, without ridicule, and they 
were another evidence of the tendencies of a barba- 
rian chieftain. They passed in the rude and uncon- 
ventional society of the frontier which shared in the 
same tendencies and irregularities, but they detracted 
from the dignity and sobriety which are the customs 
of civilization, and gave an air of melodramatic eccen- 
tricity to Houston which was an injury to his weight 
and influence. Perhaps no other strong and practi- 
cal-minded man has had this weakness in so marked a 
degree as Houston, in spite of the record of the early 
velvets and laces of Disraeli. His histrionism was 
no less marked. An old associate and friendly ob- 
server has remarked that Houston was always acting, 
that is, always trying to impress the persons he was 
with, whether it was in a room or at a public meet- 



CHARACTERISTICS 393 

ing. Another has said that his air of dignity never 
left him, even when drunk, and that he preserved his 
native superiority even in the rudest familiarity of 
the camp fire or the frontier frolic. This again is 
characteristic of the Indian chief. He appreciated 
the value of a "scene," like Napoleon, and his out- 
bursts of apparently uncontrollable anger were as 
artificial as those of his friend and model, Andrew 
Jackson. He had the grand air which carried off 
the artificiality, as in the case of the elder Pitt, but 
there was a sense of the parade in his manner which 
alienated practical-minded men, and which only his 
real capacity and masterfulness excused. It imposed 
upon the people, however, and was one of the sources 
of his strength with them. He had a profound sense 
of his dignity and importance, and sometimes mani- 
fested it in incongruous ways. It was said in jest 
that his signature was written so as to read "I am 
Houston," instead of "Sam Houston," and, as has 
been recorded, he had a habit, when he wished to be 
particularly impressive, of speaking of himself in the 
third person. He had a good many difficulties about 
trifles, and at one time he was sued in the justice 
court of Houston by an Irishman who had dug a 
well for him. Houston asserted that the man had 
left his tools in the well, and that this was an offset 
to his claim. Judgment was given against Houston 
by default, and he appealed. On the trial of the 
appeal he claimed that as a Senator of the United 
States he had been called upon by his constituents to 



394 SAM HOUSTON 

make a speech, and that this was a valid reason for 
his absence, so that the case should not have been de- 
faulted. He could not understand why his appeal 
was rejected on this excuse, and the dignity of his 
office as a Senator disregarded. But his sense of 
personal dignity had its force under adverse circum- 
stances. He never showed any sign of defeat, and 
after his deposition as governor he walked the streets 
of Austin as if he had been the victor in the contest. 

Houston was a man of warm affections and kindly 
nature. His manners to women were remarkably 
courteous and deferential. His word of address was 
not "Madam," but "Lady," and no matter what 
their rank or station his impressive politeness and 
consideration were always the same. It was not an 
affectation, but sprang from a genuine impulse of 
respect and chivalric feeling. His family affection 
was deep and strong. His second wife, to whom he 
owed so much for her influence upon his personal 
conduct, was enshrined in his deepest feelings of love 
and respect. To borrow Hawthorne's phrase, he had 
a smile which children loved, and gained their con- 
fidence and affection at once. He was fond of play- 
ing with children and telling them stories, and was 
constantly engaged in whittling out toys for them 
from his supplies of pine sticks. His own children 
were brought up in kindly freedom and confidence, 
although with a wise and judicious education and 
training. His slaves were kindly treated, and were 
in a measure members of the family. He was gener- 



CHARACTERISTICS 395 

ous and helpful to all persons in distress, and his 
money and property were at the call of all who 
needed assistance. It is recorded that he once pulled 
off his coat and gave it to a ragged soldier who had 
served at San Jacinto, and his acts of charity were 
numerous and spontaneous. 

His excesses in liquor were those of his time and 
temperament. The mighty men of his era indulged 
in tremendous exaltations of intoxication, as they did 
in the excitement of combats, from the craving of 
their overflowing animal spirits, and fought and 
drank with equal appetite. Houston in the worst 
period of his indulgence was not an habitual sot, who 
drank from a degraded physical appetite, but from 
the stimulus of his temperament to excitement, and to 
drown grief and disappointment. There was some- 
thing Homeric in his debauches, and his freaks of 
conduct when under their influence were often of 
wild extravagance. His great physical strength dis- 
played itself in the smashing of furniture, and his 
wild whoops woke the sleepers with apprehensions of 
an Indian invasion. But somehow, as has been said, 
he kept the respect of the people, and no sense of 
degradation attached itself to his excesses. Drunk 
or sober Sam Houston was always "Sam Houston." 

The limitations of Houston's character will forbid 
his being reckoned among the world's great men. 
But no one will deny that he was a strong man, ca- 
pable of great achievement, practical-minded in spite 
of his eccentricities and weaknesses, with wise concep- 



396 SAM HOUSTON 

tions of statesmanship and policy, determined and 
courageous, sincerely patriotic, and devoted to the 
welfare of his people. A type of his time and cir- 
cumstances, he rose above them by his capacity and 
energy, and signalized his own individuality, as well 
as illustrated the tendencies and opportunities which 
created him. There were others like him, but he 
surpassed them all except his prototype, Andrew 
Jackson. There will never be another Sam Houston 
in American history, for the state of society which 
produced him has passed away, and there are no 
longer such opportunities for pioneer adventure, and 
the creation of a State in the wilderness by aggressive 
settlements and the expulsion of a weaker race of col- 
onists. He has a marked place in the history of the 
nation, for what he represented as well as for; what 
he did, and his figure will grow in interest as a type 
of a peculiar and, with all its faults, a heroic period. 



BOOKS RELATING TO HOUSTON AND THE HIS- 
TORY OF TEXAS USED IN THE PREPARATION 
OF THIS VOLUME. 

Almanac, Texas, Galveston, 1856, et supra. 

Anderson, Charles. Texas Before and on the Eve of the Re- 
bellion. Cin., 1884. 

Audubon, J. J. Life and Journals. New York, 1867. 

Baker, D. W. C. Texas Scrap Book. New York, 1875. 

Bancroft, H. H. History of North Mexican States and Texas. 
2 vols. San Francisco, 1889. 

Benton, Thomas H. Thirty Years' View. New York. 2 vols. 
1854. 

Benton, Thomas H. Abridgment of Debates in Congress. 
16 vols. New York, 1851. 

Bruce, Henry. Makers of America : Sam Houston. New 
York, 1891. 

Civil and Military History of Andrew Jackson. By an 
American Officer. New York, 1825. 

Colton, C. The Life and Times of Henry Clay. 2 vols. 
New York, 1846. 

Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Con- 
federate Armies. Washington. 

Congressional Globe. Washington. 

Corner, William. San Antonio de Bexar. San Antonio, 
1890. 

Crane, William Carey. Life and Select Literary Remains of 
Sam Houston. Phil., 1884. 

Crockett, David. Exploits and Adventures in Texas. New 
York, 1845. 



398 BOOKS RELATING TO HOUSTON 

De Cordova, J. Texas, Its Resources and Its Public Men. 
Phil., 1858. 

Dewees. Letters from Texas. Louisville, 1858. 

Domenech, L'Abbd E. Journal d'un Missionaire au Texas 
et au Mexique. Paris, 1857. 

Duval, John C. Adventures of Big Foot Wallace, the Texas 
Ranger and Hunter. Phil., 1873. 

Duval, John C. Early Times in Texas. Austin, 1892. 

Dyer, Oliver. Great Senators of the United States. New 
York, 1881. 

Edwards, D. B. History of Texas. Cin., 1836. 

Featherstonehaugh, G. W. Excursion through the Slave 
States. New York, 1839. 

Foote, H. G. Texas and the Texans. 2 vols. Phil., 1841. 

Gouge, Wm. M. Fiscal History of Texas. Phil., 1852. 

Graham, Rev. John. Diary of the Siege of Londonderry. 
Londonderry, 1823. 

Greeley, Horace. The American Conflict. 2 vols. Hartford, 
1873. 

Green, Thomas J. Journal of the Texas Expedition Against 
Mier. New York, 1845. 

HoUey, Mary Austin. Texas. Lexington, Ky., 1856. 

Hooton, Charles. St. Louis Isle, or Texiana. London, 1847. 

Horton, Col. Alexander. Sketch of the War of '36. Eastern 
Texas. San Augustine, 1857. 

Houston, Mrs. Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. London, 1848. 

Houston, Sam, The Life of. New York, 1855. 

Howard, H. R. The Life of Virgil A. Stewart. (The John 
A. Murrell Conspiracy.) New York, 1836. 

Hutchison, Rev. I. R., D. D. Reminiscences, Sketches, and 
Addresses. Houston, 1879. 

Johnston, Wm. Preston. Life of Gen. Albert Sidney John- 
ston. New York, 1878. 

Jones, Anson. Memoranda and Official Correspondence Re- 
lating to the Republic of Texas. New York, 1859. 



BOOKS RELATING TO HOUSTON 399 

Kendal, G. W. Texas Santa F^ Expedition. London, 1849. 

Kennedy, William. The Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the 
Republic of Texas. 2 vols. London, 1841. 

Lester, C. Edwards. Sam Houston and his Republic. New 
York, 1846. 

Linn, John J. Reminiscences of Fifty Years in Texas. New 
York, 1883. 

Maillard, N. Doran. The History of the Republic of Texas. 
London, 1842. 

Mayo, Robert. Political Sketches of Eight Years in Washing- 
ton. Washington, 1839. 

Miranda. Expedition. In a Series of Letters. Boston, 1809. 

Morrell, Rev. Z. N. Flowers and Fruits of the Wilderness. 
Thirty-six Years in Texas. Boston, 1873. 

Newell, Rev. C. History of the Revolution in Texas. New 
York, 1838. 

Niles' Register. Washington. 

North, Thomas. Five Years in Texas, from 1861 to 1866. 
Cin., 1871. 

Olmstead, Frederick Law. A Journey through Texas. New 
York, 1857. 

Parker, A. A. Trip to the West and Texas. Concord, 
N. H., 1836. 

Parker, W. G. Unexplored Texas. Phil., 1856. 

Parton, James. Life of Andrew Jackson. 3 vols. New 
York, 1860. 

Paxton, Philip. A Stray Yankee in Texas. New York, 1857. 

Pierce, Edward L. Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner. 
4 vols. Boston, 1893. 

Phelan, James. American Commonwealths. Tennessee. 
Boston, 1887. 

Robinson, Wm. Davis. Narrative of the Expedition of Gen. 
Xavier Mina. Phil., 1820. 

Roche, James Jeffrey. The Story of the Filibusters. London, 
1892. 



400 BOOKS RELATING TO HOUSTON 

Roosevelt, Theodore. American Statesmen. Thomas H. Ben- 
ton. Boston, 1887. 

Sharp, Wm. Preston. The Prisoners of Perote. Phil., 1845. 

Shipman, Daniel. Frontier Life. Houston, Texas, 1879. 

Schurz, Carl. American Statesmen. Henry Clay. 2 vols. 
Boston, 1887. 

Schwartz, Stephan. Twenty-Two Months a Prisoner of War 
m Texas. St. Louis, 1892. 

Smith, Ashbell. Reminiscences of the Texas Republic. Gal- 
veston, 1876. 

Thompson, Waddy. Recollections of Mexico. New York, 
1847. 

Thrall, Rev. Homer S. A Pictorial History of Texas. St. 
Louis, 1881. 

Thrall, Rev. Homer S. Life of Sam Houston. Round Table 
Magazine. Dallas, 1892-93. 

Truman, Ben. C. The Field of Honor. New York, 1884. 

Ward, H. G. Mexico. 2 vols. London, 1829. 

Wilburger, J. W. Indian Depredations in Texas. Austin, 
1890. 



INDEX 



Alamo, description of, 140, 143 ; capture 
of, 149 et seq. 

Almonte, Col. Juan N., report on condi- 
tion of Texas, 55-59 ; protects Mrs. 
Dickenson, 151 ; surrenders at San 
Jacinto, 201. 

Alsbury, Mrs., survives massacre at 
Alamo, 151. 

Antonio, San, description of, 102; cap- 
ture of, 110 et seq. 

Archer, Branch T., settles in Texas, 75 ; 
President of Consultation, 117 ; com- 
missioner to United States, 121 ; Presi- 
dent Texas Railroad Co., 231. 

Archives, War of, 273, 274. 

Audrade, Gen., commands Mexican cav- 
alry, 138. 

Audubon, J. J., visits Houston, 246. 

Austin, Col. John, captures Velasco, 72. 

Austin, Moses, obtains concession in 
Texas, 61 ; death, 61. 

Austin, Stephen F., birth, 61 ; goes to 
Texas, 62 ; returns from Mexico, 72 
delegate to Mexico, 87 ; arrested, 88 
released, 93 ; given public dinner, 94 
elected commander-in-chief, 98 ; re- 
signs, 106 ; commissioner to United 
States, 121 ; raises money for Texas, 
134 ; Secretary of State, 229 ; death, 
245. 

Bache, Richard, votes against annexa- 
tion, 290. 

Baker, Capt. Moseley, attacks provi- 
sional government, 122 ; insubordina- 
tion of, 192. 

Baker, Rev. William M., anecdote by, 
248, 249. 

Bell, Senator, votes against Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill, 313. 

Benton, Thomas H., eulogizes Houston, 
21 ; favors recognition of Texan inde- 
pendence, 235 ; opposes Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill, 313. 

Bercero, Sergt., describes battle of Ala- 
mo, 153. 

Bernard, Dr. Joseph, report of wounded 
at Alamo, 152 ; rescued at Goliad, 
178. 

Bonham, Col. J. B., joins Alamo garri- 
son, 143 ; takes message to Fannin, 
147 ; death, 150. 



Bowie, James, settles in Texas, 76 ; com- 
mands at battle of Concepcion, 102; 
character, 143 ; death, 150. 

Bowie, Rezin P., settles in Texas, 76. 

Bradburn, Col. John D., commands at 
Anahuac, 71 ; deprived of command, 
72. 

Biurleson, Col. Edward, succeeds Austin 
in command of the army, 106 ; re- 
ceives surrender of San Antonio, 114 ; 
resigns, 114 ; commands centre at San 
Jacinto, 199; Vice-President, 262 
commands at San Antonio, 268. 

Burnett, David G., settles in Texas, 75 
President of the Republic, 159 ; pro 
tests against demands of army, 220 . 
resigns, 228 ; Vice-President, 249 ; ad- 
ministers government, 261. 

Burton, Capt. Isaac W., captures Mexi- 
can vessels, 227. 



Caldwell, Capt. Matthew, fights invad- 
ing force, 275. 

Calhoun, John C, rebukes Houston, 20 ; 
opposes prohibition of slavery in Ore- 
gon, 299. 

Cameron, Capt. Ewan, shot by Mexicans, 
277. 

Carson, Samuel P., Secretary of State, 
159 ; letter of, 159. 

Castenada, Capt., defeated at Gonzales, 
96. 

CastriUon, commands Mexican artil- 
lery, 138 ; pleads for prisoners, 151 ; 
death, 201. 

Cave, E. W., declines to take oath to 
Confederacy, 157. 

Chambers, Thomas J., settles in Texas, 
76. 

Clark, Edward, succeeds Houston as 
governor, 357 ; interview with Hous- 
ton, 358 ; writes to President Davis, 
365. 

Clay, Henry, favors recognition of 
Texas, 221 ; opposes its annexation, 
285. 

Coleto, battle of, 168, 169. 

Collingsworth, Capt. George, captures 
Goliad, 99. 

Collingsworth, James, commissioner to 
United States, 221 ; death, 229. 

Concepcion, battle of, 104 et seq. 



402 



INDEX 



Cook, Col. P. St. G., arrests Texan 
troops, 277. 

Cos, Gen. Martin Perfect© de, takes 
command in Coahuila, 91 ; marches to 
Bexar, 94 ; surrenders San Antonio, 
113 ; leads attack on Alamo, 149 ; re- 
inforces Santa Anna, 197 ; made pris- 
oner, 208. 

Crockett, David, character, 143 ; joins 
Alamo garrison, 143 ; death, 150. 

Dawson, Capt. N., defeated by Mexicans, 
275. 

Dickenson, Mrs. A. M,, survives Alamo 
massacre, 151. 

Douglas, Senator, introduces bill to 
repeal Missouri Compromise, 306 ; at- 
tacks New England clergymen, 314. 

Duque, Col., wounded at Alamo, 149. 

Dyer, Oliver, description of Houston, 
327-329. 

Edwards, Hayden, incites Fredonian 

war, 60. 
Edwards, Munroe, singular career of, 

71, 72. 
Ellis, Richard, President of Convention, 

155. 
Evans, Major T. C, attempts to blow up 

Alamo, 150. 

Fannin, Col. James W., commands at 
battle of Concepcion, 103 ; appointed 
" agent " by Council, 128 ; elected 
colonel of volunteers, 131 ; attempts 
to relieve Alamo, 148 ; retreats from 
Goliad, 167 ; surrenders, 171 ; death, 
179. 

Farias, Gomez, President of Mexico, 
87 ; arrests Austin, 88 ; banished, 89. 

Filisola, Gen. Vincente, second in com- 
mand of Mexican army, 138 ; retreats, 
207 ; suspended, 225. 

Fisher, Col. "WiUiam S., invades Mexico, 
276. 

Flores, Manuel, agent to Indians, 251 ; 
kiUed, 251. 

Gaines, Gen. E. P., moves troops into 

Texas, 214. 
Gaona, Gen. , commands brigade in Mex- 
ican army, 138. 
Garay, Col., rescues prisoners at Goliad, 

178. 
Goliad, Massacre of, 175 et seq. 
GoUaday, Frederic, letter of, 24. 
GoUaday, Isaac, befriends Houston, 23. 
Grant, Dr. James, organizes expedition 

to invade Mexico, 125 ; death, 164. 
Grayson, Peter, commissioner to United 

States, 221 ; death, 249. 
Green, Gen. Duff, protests against award 

of contract to Houston, 42. 
Green, Gen. T. F., arrests Santa Anna, 

219 ; escapes from Perote, 277. 

Hamilton, Gen. James, minister to Great 



Britain and France, 258 ; attempts to 
negotiate loan, 259 ; proposes treaty 
with Mexico, 269. 

Hardiman, Baily, Secretary of the 
Treasury, 159. 

Hays, Col. John C, draws out Mexican 
troops, 275. 

Hebert, Geo. P. D., commands de- 
partment of Texas, 372. 

Henderson, Geo. J. Pinkney, minister 
to Great Britain, 229. 

Herrera, President, agrees to treaty 
with Texas, 289. 

Hockley, George W., chief -of -staff to 
Houston, 159 ; commands artillery at 
San Jacinto, 199. 

Holzinger, Lieut. -Col., receives surren- 
der of Fannin's troops, 173. 

Horton, Capt., driven off from Fannin, 
178. 

Houston, Mrs. Eliza, marriage, 34 ; sep- 
aration from Houston, 36. 

Houston, Mrs. Elizabeth, removes to 
Tennessee, 3; sends her son to the 
war, 13. 

Houston, John, emigrates to America, 2. 

Houston, Mrs. M. H., description of 
Houston, 242-244. 

Houston, Mrs. Margaret M., marriage, 
248. 

Houston, Robert, settles in Virginia, 2. 

Houston, Samuel, Sr., career, 2, 3. 

Houston, Sam, birth, 1 ; ancestry, 1, 2 ; 
education, 3, 4 ; runs away to the 
Cherokees, 5, 6 ; keeps school, 8 ; 
enlists, 10 ; appointed ensign, 11 ; 
wounded at To-ho-pe-ka, 14 ; carried 
home, 17 ; appointed lieutenant, 18 ; 
sub-agent of Cherokees, 18 ; attacked 
by slave-traders, 20 ; resigns from the 
army, 20 ; studies law, 22 ; prosecut- 
ing attorney, 26; major-general of 
militia, 26 ; Representative in Con- 
gress, 26 ; writes against Clay, 27 ; 
fights duel with Gen. White, 29, 30 ; 
anecdotes of controversies, 31, 32; 
reminiscences of, by Col. D. D. Clai- 
borne, 33 ; resigns the governorship, 
34 ; separation from his wife, 34-36 ; 
goes to Indian Territory, 37 ; Indian 
life, 38 et seq. ; incurs hostility of In- 
dian ring, 42 ; assaults Hon. William 
Stanberry, 45 ; tried for breach of 
privilege of the House, 46-49 ; takes 
up with Indian wife, 50 ; duel with 
employee, 51 ; goes to Texas, 74, 75 ; 
anecdote of journey, 78 ; holds coun- 
cil with Indians at San Antonio, 79 ; 
reports to Jackson, 79-81 ; life at 
Washington , 82 ; makes arrangement 
with Indians, 93 ; elected comman- 
der of troops in eastern Texas, 97 
declines to supersede Austin, 110 
approves absolute independence, 120 
elected commander-in-chief, 121 ; is- 
sues proclamation, 123 ; complains to 
Governor Smith, 129 ; discourages ex- 



INDEX 



403 



pedition to Matamoras, 133 ; elected 
delegate to Convention, 133 ; prepares 
" solemn declaration " in behalf of 
Indians, 134; makes treaty with In- 
dians, 136 ; reelected commander-in- 
chief, 157 ; leaves for Gonzales, 159 ; 
orders Fannin to abandon Goliad, 161 ; 
retreats from Gonzales, 163 ; falls 
back to the Brazos, 186 ; moves up 
the river, 189 ; moves in pursuit of 
Santa Anna, 192 ; orders Vince's bridge 
cut down, 199 ; commands battle of 
San Jacinto, 200 ; wounded, 202 ; sug- 
gests terms of treaty with Santa 
Anna, 209 ; issues farewell address 
to soldiers, 210 ; removed to New 
Orleans, 211 ; letter to Col. Raguet, 
215 ; reception at New Orleans, 222 ; 
returns to Texas, 222 ; protests against 
execution of Santa Anna, 223 ; elected 
President, 228 ; inaugural address, 
229 ; interview with Santa Anna, 231 ; 
releases Santa Anna, 232 ; message to 
Congress, 237 ; disbands army, 240 ; 
manages finances, 243, 244 ; manner 
of life, 24G; marriage to Miss Lea, 
248 ; defends Indians, 252 ; opposes 
Santa F6 expedition, 256 ; reelected 
President, 262 ; measures of economy, 
263 ; Indian talk, 2G5-267 ; letter to 
Santa Anna, 269, 270 ; vetoes army 
bill, 271 ; declares blockade of Mexi- 
can ports, 272 ; appeals to European 
governments, 276 ; letter to Jackson, 
280 ; letter to Minister Murphy, 282 ; 
last message to Congress, 288 ; elected 
Senator, 296 ; first speech, 297 ; op- 
poses extension of slavery to Oregon, 
300 ; defends Father Matthew, 303 ; 
reelected Senator, 305 ; opposes Kan- 
sas-Nebraska bill, 306 et seq. ; defends 
Indians, 310 et seq. ; defends New 
England clergymen, 313; movement 
to nominate for presidency, 318 ; criti- 
cises Kossuth, 319 ; voted for in 
Know-Nothing Convention, 320 ; de- 
feated for Senator, 323 ; defeated for 
governor, 323 ; advocates protecto- 
rate over Mexico, 323 ; farewell speech 
in Senate, 325 ; "conversion," 329- 
331 ; nominated for governor, 335 ; 
canvass, 330-338 ; election, 338 ; at- 
titude toward secession, 339 et seq. ; 
letter to Gen. Twiggs, 346, 347 ; let- 
ter to Col. Waite, 351, 352; speech 
at Galveston, 354 ; letter to Secre- 
tary Walker, 356 ; deposition, 357 ; 
speech at Houston, 365 ; speech at 
Baylor University, 366 ; letter to 
Governor Lubbock, 372 ; congratulates 
Gen. Magruder, 373 ; relieves officers 
of Harriet Lane, 373 ; last speech, 
373, 374 ; death, 376 ; will, 377, 378 ; 
character, 378 et seq. 

Hunt, Gen. Memucan, commissioner to 
United States, 229. 

Huston, Gen. Felix, recruits volunteers 



in Mississippi, 218; duel with Gen. 
A. S. Johnston, 239. 
Huston, James, signs address to Eline 
William III., 2. 

Iverson, Senator, controversy with 
Houston, 325: denounces Houston, 
342. 

Jackson, Andrew, commands at To-ho- 
pe-ka, 12, 13 ; Senator from Tennes- 
see, 27 ; sympathetic letter to Hous- 
ton, 41 ; entertains Santa Anna in 
Washington, 272 ; message relating to 
Texas, 234; approves resolution for 
recognition of independence, 235 ; fa- 
vors annexation, 255 ; death, 295. 

Johnson, Cave, acts as friend to Hous- 
ton, 44. 

Johnson, Col. F. W., second in command 
in attack on San Antonio, 109 ; em- 
powered by Council to take command 
of expedition against Matamoras, 127 ; 
escape from San Patricio, 164. 

Johnston, Albert Sidney, joins Texan 
army, 239 ; appointed brigadier-gen- 
eral, 239 ; duel with Gen. Felix Hus- 
ton, 239 ; commands expedition against 
Indians, 251. 

Jones, Anson, criticises Houston's con- 
duct at battle of San Jacinto, 213 ; re- 
calls Minister Smith, 287 ; President 
of Texas, 288. 

Key, Francis Scott, counsel for Hous- 
ton, 46. 

King, Capt., sent to relief of Refugio, 
165; death, 166. 

Kossuth, Louis, interview with Houston, 
319. 

Lamar, Mirabeau B. , commands cavalry 
at San Jacinto, 200 ; protests against 
release of Santa Anna, 218 ; appointed 
to command army, 226 ; Vice-Presi- 
dent, 228 ; President, 249 ; policy of, 
259 et seq. ; sends expedition to Santa 
F^, 257 ; abdicates, 260 ; opposes an- 
nexation, 289. 

Lander, Col. F. W., sent to Texas, 248; 
advice to Col. Waite, 352. 

Lee, Col. R. E., superseded by Gen. 
Twiggs, 245. 

Lester, C . Edwards, describes meeting 
of Houston with Indians, 315, 316. 

Lincoln^ President, sends messenger to 
Texas, 348 ; offers major-general's 
commission to Houston, 361. 

Lockhart, Matilda, released by Indians, 
253. 

McLeod, Gen., commands Santa F^ ex- 
pedition, 257. 

M'Culloch, Benjamin, commands troops 
at San Antonio, 349. 

Meigs, Gen. Return J., agent to Chero- 
kees, 19. 



404 



INDEX 



Mexia, Gen., disgraceful conduct in ex- 
pedition to Tampico, 115. 

Milam, Col. Benjamin F., arrested in 
Coaliuila, 91 ; joins attack on Goliad, 
92 ; calls for volunteers to attack San 
Antonio, 104 ; death. 111. 

Millard, Lieut.-Col,, commands infaiftry 
at San Jacinto, 199. 

Miller, Capt., captured at Copano, 175. 

Moore, Com. E. W., commands Texan 
navy, 255 ; sails for Yucatan, 272. 

Moore, Col. John H., commands at Gon- 
zales, 96 ; defeats Comanches, 251. 

Morfitt, Henry, commissioner to Texas, 
221 ; report of, 234. 

Murphy, Col. "William S., minister to 
Texas, 280. 

North, Thomas, anecdote by, 353 ; de- 
scription of Houston at review, 368, 
369. 

O'Connell, Daniel, opposes recognition 
of Texas, 259. 

Palmerston, Lord, recognizes independ- 
ence of Texas, 258. 

Parmer, Col. Martin, anecdotes of, 59, 60. 

Pierce, Franklin, President, 305. 

Polk, James K., favors annexation, 289. 

PortiUa, Col., ordered to execute pris- 
oners at Goliad, 175. 

Potter, Robert, Secretary of the Navy, 
159. 

Ripley, Henry, wounded at Coleto, 171. 

Robertson, John C, President Commit- 
tee of Public Safety, 344. 

Robinson, James W., Lieut.-Gov., 124; 
proposes treaty with Mexico, 257. 

Runnels, Hamilton R., defeats Houston 
for governorship, 322 ; secession mes- 
sage, 334 ; defeated by Houston, 338. 

Rusk, Thomas J., settles in Texas, 76; 
Secretary of War, 139 ; joins army, 
190 ; opposes attack at San Jacinto, 
198 ; at battle of San Jacinto, 200 ; 
disbands army, 241 ; Senator of the 
United States, 296 ; death, 322. 

Saligny, M. de, minister from France, 
259. 

Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez de, charac- 
ter and career, 83, 85 ; wins battle 
of Zacatecas, 90 ; takes command of 
army of invasion, 138 ; besieges Alamo, 
145 ; orders massacre of prisoners at 
Goliad, 175 ; starts to join Gen. Sesma, 
183 ; captures Harrisburg, 191 ; alarm 
at New Washington, 195 ; flight from 
San Jacinto, 201 ; capture of, 204 ; 
orders troops to withdraw from Texas, 
207 ; signs treaty, 211 ; arrested, 218 ; 
plots to release, 227 ; interview with 
Houston, 231 ; release of, 232 ; repu- 
diates debt to Col. Bee, 233 ; deposes 
Bustamente, 267 ; letter to Houston, 
269. 



Santa F«5, expedition to, 257, 258. 

Sesma, Gen., sent to relief of Gen. Cos, 
137 ; crosses Colorado River, 190. 

Scott, Gen. W., orders Col. Waite to 
offer assistance to Houston, 351. 

Shackleford, Dr., rescued at Goliad, 177. 

Sherman, Col. Sidney, commands left 
wing at San Jacinto, 199. 

Simpson, Rev. J. W., account of Hous- 
ton's conversion, 324 et seq. 

Smith, Ashbell, minister to England, 
286 ; anecdote by, 291, 384. 

Smith, Erasmus, character, 106 ; cuts 
down Vince's bridge, 199 ; at battle of 
San Jacinto, 202. 

Smith, Capt. J. W., enters Alamo, 147 ; 
escapes with message, 152. 

Smith, Henry, settles in Texas, 76 ; gov- 
ernor, 121 ; quarrels with Council, 
124 et seq. ; deposed, 130 ; Secretary 
of the Treasury, 239. 

Snively, Capt. Jacob S., commands ex- 
pedition to New Mexico, 277. 

Somerville, Gen. Alexander, conunands 
Texan troops, 268 ; leads expedition 
to Rio Grande, 276. 

Stewart, Hamilton, anecdote by, 371, 
372. 

Sumner, Charles, assault on, by Brooks, 
314 ; opinion of Houston, 329. 

Sylvester, James T., captures Santa 
Anna, 205. 

Taylor, Zachary, President, 301 ; asserts 
authority in New Mexico, 302. 

Texas, early settlement of, 53 et seq. ; 
character of settlers of, 64 et seq. ; 
convention to ask separation from 
Coahuila, 86 ; general council of citi- 
zens, 98 ; General Consultation, 117 ; 
declaration of provisional independ- 
ence, 118, 120 ; provisional govern- 
ment, 121 ; bounty for volunteers, 
123 ; General Convention, 155 ; decla- 
ration of independence, 156 ; consti- 
tution, 160 ; operations of the navy, 
212 ; first Congress, 228 ; army dis- 
banded, 240 ; land grants, 241 ; 
finances, 242 ; under Lamar's adminis- 
tration, 260 et seq. ; navy of, 272 ; 
disturbances in neutral ground, 274 ; 
annexation, 280 et seq. ; boundary, 
302 ; public debt, 303 ; secession, 333 
et seq. ; union with the Confederacy, 
356. 

Thomas, David, attorney-general, 159. 

Thompson, T. M., depredations on the 
coast, 96. 

To-ho-pe-ka, battle of, 13 et seq. 

Tolsa, Gen., commands brigade in Mex- 
ican army, 138. 

Travis, Col. William B., takes command 
at Alamo, 132 ; character, 143 ; appeals 
for assistance, 144 ; death, 150. 

Twiggs, Gen. David E., commands de- 
partment of Texas, 345 ; reply to 
Houston, 347 ; surrenders troops, 350. 



INDEX 



405 



Tyler, President John, favors annexa- 
tion, 279. 

Ugartchea, Col., captured at Velasco, 
72 ; demands surrender of cannon, at 
Gonzales, 95; relieves San Antonio, 
112. 

Urrea, Gen. , sent to Matamoras, 138 ; 
captures San Patricio, 164 ; attacks 
Fannin's troops, 269 ; supersedes FiM- 
sola, 225. 

Van Buren, Martin, opposes annexation, 
286. 

Van Dorn, Col., compels surrender of 
U.-S. troops, 351. 

Van Zandt, Isaac, minister to Washing- 
ton, 279. 

Viesca, Augustin, governor of Coahuila, 
90 ; arrested, 91. 

Waite, Col. Carlos A., succeeds Gen. 



Twiggs, 350; reports to Gen. Scott, 
350. 

Ward, Col. William, defends Refugio, 
166 ; death, 179. 

Walker, Hon. R. J., introduces resolu- 
tion for recognition of the independ- 
ence of Texas, 235. 

Wharton, John A. , settles in Texas, 76 ; 
escapes from Mexico, 244. 

Wharton, William H., settles in Texas, 
76 ; commissioner to United States, 
121 ; minister to United States, 229 ; 
captured, 244. 

Wigfall, Louis T., Senator of the United 
States, 322 ; denounces Houston, 342. 

Wise, Henry A., attacks Houston, 321. 

Woll, Gen. Adrian, sent to Texan camp, 
208 ; invades Texas, 275. 

Zavala, Lorenzo de, flees to Texas, 91 ; 
Vice-President, 159 ; joins army, 190 : 
death, 244. 



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